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 (?), 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"age (?), n. [OF. caiage, F. guayage. See lst Key, Quay.] Wharfage;
quayage.
Key"board` (?), n. The whole arrangement, or one range, of the keys of
an organ, typewriter, etc.
Key"-cold` (?), a. Cold as a metallic key; lifeless. [Formerly, a
proverbial expression.] Shak. Milton.
Keyed (kd), a. Furnished with keys; as, a keyed instrument; also, set
to a key, as a tune.
Keyed bugle. See Kent bugle.
Key"hole` (?), n. 1. A hole or apertupe in a door or lock, for
receiving a key.
2. (a) (Carp.) A hole or excavation in beams intended to be joined
together, to receive the key which fastens them. (b) (Mach.) a mortise
for a key or cotter.
Keyhole limpet (Zoöl.), a marine gastropod of the genus Fissurella and
allied genera. See Fissurella. -- Keyhole saw, a narrow, slender saw,
used in cutting keyholes, etc., as in doors; a kind of compass saw or
fret saw. -- Keyhole urchin (Zoöl.), any one of numerous clypeastroid
sea urchins, of the genera Melitta, Rotula, and Encope; -- so called
because they have one or more perforations resembling keyholes.
Key"note` (?), n. 1. (Mus.) The tonic or first tone of the scale in
which a piece or passage is written; the fundamental tone of the chord,
to which all the modulations of the piece are referred; -- called also
key tone.
2. The fundamental fact or idea; that which gives the key; as, the
keynote of a policy or a sermon.
Key"seat` (?), v. t. To form a key seat, as by cutting. See Key seat,
under Key.
Key"stone` (?), n. (Arch.) The central or topmost stone of an arch.
This in some styles is made different in size from the other voussoirs,
or projects, or is decorated with carving. See Illust. of Arch.
Keystone State, the State of Pennsylvania; - - so called from its
having been the central State of the Union at the formation of the
Constitution.
Key" tone` (?). (Mus.) See Keynote.
Key"way` (?), n. See Key way, under Key.
Kha"liff (?), n. See Caliph.
Kham*sin` (?), n. Same as Kamsin.
Khan (?), n. [Pers. & Tart. khn.] [Also kan, kaun.] A king; a prince; a
chief; a governor; -- so called among the Tartars, Turks, and Persians,
and in countries now or formerly governed by them.
Khan, n. [Per. khn, khnah, house, tent, inn.] An Eastern inn or
caravansary. [Written also kawn.]
Khan*ate (&?;), n. Dominion or jurisdiction of a khan.
Kha"ya (?), n. (Bot.) A lofty West African tree (Khaya Senegalensis),
related to the mahogany, which it resembles in the quality of the wood.
The bark is used as a febrifuge.
||Khe`dive" (?), n. [F. khédive, Pers. khediw a prince.] A governor or
||viceroy; -- a title granted in 1867 by the sultan of Turkey to the
||ruler of Egypt.
||
Khen"na (?), n. See Henna.
Kho"lah (?), n. (Zoöl.) The Indian jackal.
Khol"sun (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) The dhole.
Khut"bah (?), n. [Ar.] An address or public prayer read from the steps
of the pulpit in Mohammedan mosques, offering glory to God, praising
Mohammed and his descendants, and the ruling princes.
Ki`a*boo"ca wood` (?). See Kyaboca wood.
Ki*ang" (?), n. (Zoöl.) The dziggetai.
Kib"ble (?), v. t. To bruise; to grind coarsely; as, kibbled oats.
[Prov.Eng.] Halliwell.
Kib"ble, n. A large iron bucket used in Cornwall and Wales for raising
ore out of mines. [Prov. Eng.] [Written also kibbal.]
Kib"blings (?), n. pl. Portions of small fish used for bait on the
banks of Newfoundland.
Kibe (?), n. [W. cib + gwst pain, sickness.] A chap or crack in the
flesh occasioned by cold; an ulcerated chilblain. "He galls his kibe."
Shak.
Kibed (?), a. Chapped; cracked with cold; affected with chilblains; as,
kibed heels. Beau. & Fl.
||Ki*bit"ka (?), n.; pl. Kibitkas (&?;). [Russ.] 1. A tent used by the
||Kirghiz Tartars.
||
2. A rude kind of Russian vehicle, on wheels or on runners, sometimes
covered with cloth or leather, and often used as a movable habitation.
Kib"lah (&?;), n. See Keblah.
Kib"y (?), a. Affected with kibes. Skelton.
Kich"il (?), n. [Obs.] See Kechil. Chaucer.
Kick (kk), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Kicked (kkt); p. pr. & vb. n. Kicking.]
[W. cicio, fr. cic foot.] To strike, thrust, or hit violently with the
foot; as, a horse kicks a groom; a man kicks a dog.
He [Frederick the Great] kicked the shins of his judges.
Macaulay.
To kick the beam, to fit up and strike the beam; -- said of the lighter
arm of a loaded balance; hence, to be found wanting in weight. Milton.
-- To kick the bucket, to lose one's life; to die. [Colloq. & Low]
Kick, v. i. 1. To thrust out the foot or feet with violence; to strike
out with the foot or feet, as in defense or in bad temper; esp., to
strike backward, as a horse does, or to have a habit of doing so.
Hence, figuratively: To show ugly resistance, opposition, or hostility;
to spurn.