feature key n.
[common] The Macintosh key with the cloverleaf graphic on its
keytop; sometimes referred to as `flower', `pretzel', `clover',
`propeller', `beanie' (an apparent reference to the major feature
of a propeller beanie), splat,
`open-apple' or (officially, in Mac documentation) the `command
key'. In French, the term `papillon' (butterfly) has been
reported. The proliferation of terms for this creature may
illustrate one subtle peril of iconic interfaces.
Many people have been mystified by the cloverleaf-like symbol
that appears on the feature key. Its oldest name is `cross of St.
Hannes', but it occurs in pre-Christian Viking art as a
decorative motif. Throughout Scandinavia today the road agencies
use it to mark sites of historical interest. Apple picked up the
symbol from an early Mac developer who happened to be Swedish.
Apple documentation gives the translation "interesting
feature"!
There is some dispute as to the proper (Swedish) name of this
symbol. It technically stands for the word `sevärdhet'
(thing worth seeing); many of these are old churches. Some Swedes
report as an idiom for the sign the word `kyrka', cognate to
English `church' and pronounced (roughly) /chur'ka/ in modern
Swedish. Others say this is nonsense. Other idioms reported for
the sign are `runa' (rune) or `runsten' /roon'stn/ (runestone),
derived from the fact that many of the interesting features are
Viking rune-stones. The term `fornminne' /foorn'min'*/ (relic of
antiquity, ancient monument) is also reported, especially among
those who think that the Mac itself is a relic of antiquity.