keynote

Etymology

It is a compound from English key + note,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from key in the musical sense "scale".^[3] The verb, from 1877, is a conversion of the noun.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In music, the first note of a scale, which forms the basis of the key and gives it its name; the tonic: 1677, in Lord Guildford's essay on music.^[2] Etymonline dates it from 1776.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The figurative sense, the main idea or prevailing tone of a speech, piece of writing or course of action, followed in 1763,^[2][4] or 1783 according to Etymonline.^[3] In 1762 the word was also used for the pitch of the voice, a sense that did not last.^[2] The keynote speech, the address that sets out the main theme of a meeting, is American, from 1887 in Etymonline,^[3] and the noun alone has meant such a speech since 1896.^[2] The verb, first "to set the prevailing tone of" (1877), came to mean "to give the keynote speech at" a meeting in 1908.^[2][5]

Timeline

• 1677 – the first note of a musical scale; the tonic.^[2][5]
• 1762 – the pitch of the voice (obsolete).^[2]
• 1763 – the main idea or prevailing tone of something.^[2]
• 1877 – verb, to set the prevailing tone of.^[2][5]
• 1887 – keynote speech, in American English.^[3]
• 1896 – a keynote speech.^[2]
• 1908 – verb, to give the keynote speech at a meeting.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The central idea or prevailing tone of something: Simplicity is the keynote of the new design.^[5][7][2]
2. A keynote speech: the main address at a conference or political meeting, which sets out its main theme.^[2][5]
3. (music) The first note of a scale, on which the key is based; the tonic.^[5][7][2]

Verb

1. To give the keynote speech at a meeting: She keynoted the trade show.^[5][7][2]
2. To set the keynote or prevailing tone of something.^[5][7][2]

Word family

• keynoter
• keynote speech

Related words

• key
• note

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt