key – English verb conjugation

English verb forms of key

Nominal Forms

Infinitive: to key sth in
Participle: keyed sth in
Gerund: keying sth in

Cognates

-

Indicative

Present

Ikey sth in
youkey sth in
he;she;itkeys sth in
wekey sth in
youkey sth in
theykey sth in

Perfect

Ihave keyed sth in
youhave keyed sth in
he;she;ithas keyed sth in
wehave keyed sth in
youhave keyed sth in
theyhave keyed sth in

Past

Ikeyed sth in
youkeyed sth in
he;she;itkeyed sth in
wekeyed sth in
youkeyed sth in
theykeyed sth in

Pluperfect

Ihad keyed sth in
youhad keyed sth in
he;she;ithad keyed sth in
wehad keyed sth in
youhad keyed sth in
theyhad keyed sth in

Future

Iwill key sth in
youwill key sth in
he;she;itwill key sth in
wewill key sth in
youwill key sth in
theywill key sth in

Future Perfect

Iwill have keyed sth in
youwill have keyed sth in
he;she;itwill have keyed sth in
wewill have keyed sth in
youwill have keyed sth in
theywill have keyed sth in

Subjunctive

Present

Ikey sth in
youkey sth in
he;she;itkey sth in
wekey sth in
youkey sth in
theykey sth in

Perfect

Ihave keyed sth in
youhave keyed sth in
he;she;ithave keyed sth in
wehave keyed sth in
youhave keyed sth in
theyhave keyed sth in

Imperfect

Ikeyed sth in
youkeyed sth in
he;she;itkeyed sth in
wekeyed sth in
youkeyed sth in
theykeyed sth in

Pluperfect

Ihad keyed sth in
youhad keyed sth in
he;she;ithad keyed sth in
wehad keyed sth in
youhad keyed sth in
theyhad keyed sth in

Conditional

Present

Iwould key sth in
youwould key sth in
he;she;itwould key sth in
wewould key sth in
youwould key sth in
theywould key sth in

Perfect

Iwould have keyed sth in
youwould have keyed sth in
he;she;itwould have keyed sth in
wewould have keyed sth in
youwould have keyed sth in
theywould have keyed sth in

Imperative

youkey sth in
weLet's key sth in
youkey sth in

Progressive (Continuous) Forms

Indicative

Present

Iam keying sth in
youare keying sth in
he;she;itis keying sth in
weare keying sth in
youare keying sth in
theyare keying sth in

Perfect

Ihave been keying sth in
youhave been keying sth in
he;she;ithas been keying sth in
wehave been keying sth in
youhave been keying sth in
theyhave been keying sth in

Past

Iwas keying sth in
youwere keying sth in
he;she;itwas keying sth in
wewere keying sth in
youwere keying sth in
theywere keying sth in

Pluperfect

Ihad been keying sth in
youhad been keying sth in
he;she;ithad been keying sth in
wehad been keying sth in
youhad been keying sth in
theyhad been keying sth in

Future

Iwill be keying sth in
youwill be keying sth in
he;she;itwill be keying sth in
wewill be keying sth in
youwill be keying sth in
theywill be keying sth in

Future Perfect

Iwill have been keying sth in
youwill have been keying sth in
he;she;itwill have been keying sth in
wewill have been keying sth in
youwill have been keying sth in
theywill have been keying sth in

Conditional

Present

Iwould be keying sth in
youwould be keying sth in
he;she;itwould be keying sth in
wewould be keying sth in
youwould be keying sth in
theywould be keying sth in

Perfect

Iwould have been keying sth in
youwould have been keying sth in
he;she;itwould have been keying sth in
wewould have been keying sth in
youwould have been keying sth in
theywould have been keying sth in

Other

Verbs conjugated like 'key'

abandon, abduct, abear, aberr, abject, abord, abort, abound, abraid, abray, abrook, abscind, abscond, absist, absorb, abstain, abstract, accend, accent, accept, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)

Verbs similar to 'key'

fey, keg, ken, ley, wey, aken, bay, be, bed, beg,

Synonyms & Antonyms

Additional Information

Etymology

1. "metal piece that works a lock," from O.E. cæg, of unknown origin, with no certain cognates other than O.Fris. kei. Perhaps related to M.L.G. keie "lance, spear" on notion of "tool to cleave with," from P.Gmc. *ki- "to cleaver, split" (cf. Ger. Keil "wedge," Goth. us-kijans "come forth," said of seed sprouts, keinan "to germinate"). Figurative sense of "that which serves to open or explain" was in O.E.; meaning "that which holds together other parts" is from 1523. Musical sense of "tone, note" is 15c., but modern sense of "scale" is 1590, probably from L. clavis or Fr. clef, from use in the Guidonian system for lowest note of a scale, which is its basis (cf. keynote). Also extended to "mechanism on a musical instrument" (c.1500).
2. From Middle English keye, kaye, keiȝe, from Old English cǣġ (“key, solution, experiment”) (whence also Scots key and kay (“key”)), from Anglo-Frisian Proto-West Germanic *kaiju, of uncertain origin. The only sure cognates are Saterland Frisian Koai (“key”), West Frisian kaai (“key”), and North Frisian kai, koie (“key”). Possibly from Proto-Germanic *kēgaz, *kēguz (“stake, post, pole”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵogʰ-, *ǵegʰ-, *ǵegʰn- (“branch, stake, bush”), which would make it cognate with Middle Low German kāk (“whipping post, pillory”), and perhaps to Middle Dutch keige (“javelin, spear”) and Middle Low German keie, keige (“spear”).
3. For the semantic development, note that medieval keys were simply long poles (ending in a hook) with which a crossbar obstructing a door from the inside could be removed from the outside, by lifting it through a hole in the door. Liberman has noted, however, "The original meaning of *kaig-jo- was presumably '*pin with a twisted end.' Words with the root *kai- followed by a consonant meaning 'crooked, bent; twisted' are common only in the North Germanic languages."

Sample Sentences

  • So I worked on a tissue-paper copy of the perimeter plan, outlining groupings of plants of the same species and keying them with letters for the species. [1996 January, Garden Dsign Ideas, second printing, Taunton Press, →ISBN, page 25:]
  • The volume closes with thirty pages of "Notes, critical and explanatory," in which Thomson provides seventy-six longer or shorter notes keyed to specific sections of the synopsis. [2001, Bruce M. Metzger, The Bible in Translation, →ISBN, page 87:]
  • Talk about similarities between the words and write them below to the left of the anchor, keying them with a plus sign (+). Talk about the characteristics that set the words apart and list them below the box to the right, keying them with a tilde sign (~). [2002, Karen Bromley, Stretching Students' Vocabulary, →ISBN, page 12:]
  • 2007, Stephen Blake Mettee, Michelle Doland, and Doris Hall, compilers, The American Directory of Writer's Guidelines, 6th ("2007–2008") edition, →ISBN, page 757,
  • Indicate the comparative value of each heading by keying it with a number in pencil, in the left margin, as follows: […]
  • Our instructor told us to key in our user IDs.
  • He keyed the car that had taken his parking spot.
  • The American Heart Association has prepared their own guide to classification and, keying it with the Standard Nomenclature of Diseases, have done much to encourage a concise yet complete diagnosis. [1960, Richard L. Masland, “Classification of the Epilepsies”, in Epilepsia, volume 1, page 516:]
  • The workman's compensation system rests on incentives (premium payments) that are keyed to the immediate and relatively undeniable nature of injuries; […] [1976, Nicholas Askounes Ashford, Crisis in the Workplace: Occupational Disease and Injury, page 19:]
  • It also features special issues on "Live Longer, Better, Wiser," men's health, women's health, and issues keyed to important "disease weeks." [2006, Deborah Blum, Mary Knudson, Robin Marantz Henig, A Field Guide for Science Writers: The Official Guide of the National Association of Science Writers, page 63:]
  • Keying advertisements and counting the number of inquiries received or the number of coupons returned to indicate the "pulling power" of a particular piece of copy or the coverage of a particular advertising medium. [1936, John Freeman Pyle, Marketing Principles, Organization and Policies, page 711:]
  • Another popular way to key ads and mailings is to use a suite number, room number, department number, desk number, etc. as part of the ordering address. With a classified ad, using such a key may increase your ad cost. Why? Because you're using an extra word or two to key the ad. [1998, Mail Order Success Secrets:]
  • To Ethel alone she addressed a stray remark, keyed below the sound of other voices. [1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, →OCLC, page 23:]
  • they Mouldered and keyed the Portico Arches with Pieces of Stone, because Brick was not strong enough [1744, Roger North, The Life of the Honourable Sir Dudley North:]
  • The last arch in the permanant ^([sic]) bridge was keyed on March 26, 1850, and a single track was brought into use for goods trains on July 20. [1950 September, “Centenary of the Royal Border Bridge”, in Railway Magazine, page 637:]
  • After keying the background, you’d be left with a transparent background, where you can install anything—from images to videos that blend seamlessly into the main subject of the shot. [2021 September 11, Anina Ot, “What Is a Green Screen and How Does It Work?”, in MakeUseOf:]