Keyword

How to spell keyword

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce keyword

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does keyword mean?

1. nounA significant or central word used to find, index, or summarise information, especially in searching and computing.

Keyword in a sentence

• The librarian suggested a better keyword for the database search.

• Each blog post needs a relevant keyword so readers can find it.

Where does keyword come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a transparent English compound, formed by joining two very old native words: 'key' and 'word'. 'Key' descends from Old English 'caeg', which named the metal tool for opening a lock, and over time it took on the figurative sense of anything that gives access or holds the answer to something. 'Word' comes from Old English 'word', a Germanic term for a spoken or written unit of language that traces back even further to a Proto-Indo-European root linked to Latin 'verbum'. The compound 'keyword' appeared in the nineteenth century to mean a word that is central to a passage, code, or argument; it later became indispensable in indexing, cataloguing, and computing, where a keyword is a term used to search or to trigger a command. Because both halves are ordinary words, the only real spelling trap is remembering that it is written as one solid word with no space and no hyphen.

How the word is built

• key (something that unlocks or is central)
• word (a unit of language)