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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Keynote \Key"note'\, noun
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.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
keynote
noun
1: the principal theme in a speech or literary work
2: a fundamental or central idea
3: (music) the first note of a diatonic scale [syn: {tonic}]
verb
1: set the keynote of; "Comfort keynotes this designer's Fall collection"
2: give the keynote address to (an audience)
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
96 Moby Thesaurus words for "keynote": aroma, attribute, badge, banner, be characteristic, brand, cachet, cast, character, characteristic, characterize, configuration, cut, define, demarcate, describe, device, differentia, differential, differentiate, distinctive feature, distinguish, dominant, earmark, feature, figure, flavor, gust, hallmark, idiocrasy, idiosyncrasy, image, impress, impression, index, indicant, indicator, individualism, insignia, key, key signature, lineaments, major, major key, mannerism, mark, mark off, mark out, marking, measure, mediant, minor, mold, nature, note, odor, particularity, peculiarity, pedal point, picture, property, quality, quirk, representation, representative, savor, seal, set apart, set the pace, set the tone, shape, sigil, sign, signal, signature, singularity, smack, sound the keynote, specialty, stamp, subdominant, submediant, subtonic, supertonic, sure sign, symptom, taint, tang, taste, telltale sign, token, tonality, tonic, tonic key, trait, trick
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Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |