資料來源 : pyDict

鍵,解答,關鍵,要害,基調,線索,答案,暗礁調音,鎖上,鑰匙

資料來源 : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Key \Key\ (k[=e]), n. [OE. keye, key, kay, AS. c[ae]g.]
   1. An instrument by means of which the bolt of a lock is shot
      or drawn; usually, a removable metal instrument fitted to
      the mechanism of a particular lock and operated by turning
      in its place.

   2. An instrument which is turned like a key in fastening or
      adjusting any mechanism; as, a watch key; a bed key, etc.

   3. That part of an instrument or machine which serves as the
      means of operating it; as, a telegraph key; the keys of a
      pianoforte, or of a typewriter.

   4. A position or condition which affords entrance, control,
      pr possession, etc.; as, the key of a line of defense; the
      key of a country; the key of a political situation. Hence,
      that which serves to unlock, open, discover, or solve
      something unknown or difficult; as, the key to a riddle;
      the key to a problem.

            Those who are accustomed to reason have got the true
            key of books.                         --Locke.

            Who keeps the keys of all the creeds. --Tennyson.

   5. That part of a mechanism which serves to lock up, make
      fast, or adjust to position.

   6. (Arch.)
      (a) A piece of wood used as a wedge.
      (b) The last board of a floor when laid down.

   7. (Masonry)
      (a) A keystone.
      (b) That part of the plastering which is forced through
          between the laths and holds the rest in place.

   8. (Mach.)
      (a) A wedge to unite two or more pieces, or adjust their
          relative position; a cotter; a forelock. See Illusts.
          of {Cotter}, and {Gib}.
      (b) A bar, pin or wedge, to secure a crank, pulley,
          coupling, etc., upon a shaft, and prevent relative
          turning; sometimes holding by friction alone, but more
          frequently by its resistance to shearing, being
          usually embedded partly in the shaft and partly in the
          crank, pulley, etc.

   9. (Bot.) An indehiscent, one-seeded fruit furnished with a
      wing, as the fruit of the ash and maple; a samara; --
      called also {key fruit}.

   10. (Mus.)
       (a) A family of tones whose regular members are called
           diatonic tones, and named key tone (or tonic) or one
           (or eight), mediant or three, dominant or five,
           subdominant or four, submediant or six, supertonic or
           two, and subtonic or seven. Chromatic tones are
           temporary members of a key, under such names as ``
           sharp four,'' ``flat seven,'' etc. Scales and tunes
           of every variety are made from the tones of a key.
       (b) The fundamental tone of a movement to which its
           modulations are referred, and with which it generally
           begins and ends; keynote.

                 Both warbling of one song, both in one key.
                                                  --Shak.

   11. Fig: The general pitch or tone of a sentence or
       utterance.

             You fall at once into a lower key.   --Cowper.

   {Key bed}. Same as {Key seat}.

   {Key bolt}, a bolt which has a mortise near the end, and is
      secured by a cotter or wedge instead of a nut.

   {Key bugle}. See {Kent bugle}.

   {Key of a position} or {country.} (Mil.) See {Key}, 4.

   {Key seat} (Mach.), a bed or groove to receive a key which
      prevents one part from turning on the other.

   {Key way}, a channel for a key, in the hole of a piece which
      is keyed to a shaft; an internal key seat; -- called also
      {key seat}.

   {Key wrench} (Mach.), an adjustable wrench in which the
      movable jaw is made fast by a key.

   {Power of the keys} (Eccl.), the authority claimed by the
      ministry in some Christian churches to administer the
      discipline of the church, and to grant or withhold its
      privileges; -- so called from the declaration of Christ,
      ``I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of
      heaven.'' --Matt. xvi. 19.

Key \Key\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Keved}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Keying}.]
   To fasten or secure firmly; to fasten or tighten with keys or
   wedges. --Francis.

   {To key up}.
   (a) (Arch.) To raise (the whole ring of an arch) off its
       centering, by driving in the keystone forcibly.
   (b) (Mus.) To raise the pitch of.
   (c) Hence, fig., to produce nervous tension in.

Key \Key\, n.
   A simplified version or analysis which accompanies something
   as a clue to its explanation, a book or table containing the
   solutions to problems, ciphers, allegories, or the like, or a
   table or synopsis of conspicuous distinguishing characters of
   members of a taxonomic group.

Key \Key\, n. (Teleg.)
   A metallic lever by which the circuit of the sending or
   transmitting part of a station equipment may be easily and
   rapidly opened and closed; any device for closing or opening
   an electric circuit.

資料來源 : WordNet®

key
     n 1: metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted
          into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be
          rotated
     2: something crucial for explaining; "the key to development is
        economic integration"
     3: pitch of the voice; "he spoke in a low key"
     4: any of 24 major or minor diatonic scales that provide the
        tonal framework for a piece of music [syn: {tonality}]
        [ant: {atonality}]
     5: a kilogram of a narcotic drug; "they were carrying two keys
        of heroin"
     6: a winged often one-seed indehiscent fruit as of the ash or
        elm or maple [syn: {samara}, {key fruit}]
     7: United States lawyer and poet who wrote a poem after
        witnessing the British attack on Baltimore during the War
        of 1812; the poem was later set to music and entitled `The
        Star-Spangled Banner' (1779-1843) [syn: {Francis Scott Key}]
     8: a coral reef off the southern coast of Florida [syn: {cay},
        {Florida keys}]
     9: (basketball) a space (including the foul line) in front of
        the basket at each end of a basketball court; usually
        painted a different color from the rest of the court; "he
        hit a jump shot from the top of the key"; "he dominates
        play in the paint" [syn: {paint}]
     10: a list of answers to a test; "some students had stolen the
         key to the final exam"
     11: a list of words or phrases that explain symbols or
         abbreviations
     12: a generic term for any device whose possession entitles the
         holder to a means of access; "a safe-deposit box usually
         requires two keys to open it"
     13: mechanical device used to wind another device that is driven
         by a spring (as a clock) [syn: {winder}]
     14: the central building block at the top of an arch or vault
         [syn: {keystone}, {headstone}]
     15: a lever that actuates a mechanism when depressed

key
     adj 1: serving as an essential component; "a cardinal rule"; "the
            central cause of the problem"; "an example that was
            fundamental to the argument"; "computers are
            fundamental to modern industrial structure" [syn: {cardinal},
             {central}, {fundamental}, {primal}]
     2: effective; producing a desired effect; "the operative word"
        [syn: {operative}]

key
     v 1: identify as in botany or biology, for example [syn: {identify},
           {discover}, {key out}, {distinguish}, {describe}, {name}]
     2: provide with a key; "We were keyed after the locks were
        changed in the building"
     3: vandalize a car by scratching the sides with a key; "His new
        Mercedes was keyed last night in the parking lot"
     4: regulate the musical pitch of
     5: harmonize with or adjust to; "key one's actions to the
        voters' prevailing attitude"

資料來源 : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

key
     
        1.  A value used to identify a {record} in a
        database, derived by applying some fixed function to the
        record.  The key is often simply one of the {fields} (a
        {column} if the database is considered as a table with records
        being rows, see "{key field}").  Alternatively the key may be
        obtained by applying some function, e.g. a {hash function}, to
        one or more of the fields.  The set of keys for all records
        forms an {index}.  Multiple indexes may be built for one
        database depending on how it is to be searched.
     
        2.  A value which must be fed into the
        {algorithm} used to decode an encrypted message in order to
        reproduce the original {plain text}.  Some encryption schemes
        use the same (secret) key to encrypt and decrypt a message,
        but {public key encryption} uses a "private" (secret) key and
        a "public" key which is known by all parties.
     
        3.  An electromechanical {keyboard} button.
     
        (2003-07-04)