chave

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English

Etymology

From Middle English ichave, equivalent to ch- +‎ have, from ich + have.

Contraction

chave

  1. (West Country, obsolete) I have
    • 1839, An Exmoor Scolding, London: John Russell Smith, page 11:
      Chad et in my meend, and zo chave still. Bet chawnt drow et out bevore tha begen'st agen, and than chell.

Synonyms

References

  • Holloway, William (1840) A General Dictionary of Provincialisms, London: John Russell Smith, page 27

Anagrams

Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese chave (13th century, Cantigas de Santa Maria), from Latin clāvis, clāvem.

Pronunciation

Noun

chave f (plural chaves)

  1. key (to open doors)
    • 1416, Á. Rodríguez González (ed.), Libro do Concello de Santiago (1416-1422). Santiago de Compostela: Consello da Cultura Galega, page 10:
      O dito conçello mandaron que as personas que tinan as chaves das portas da dita çidade que as fezesen çarrar cada noyte porque non viese por elas dano a a dita çidade
      Said Council ordered that the persons who had the keys to the doors of said city should made them close each night, so that no harm can come through them to said city
  2. key (of musical instrument)
  3. key (crucial step)
  4. wrench, spanner
  5. curly bracket
  6. faucet, tap, water tap, spigot
  7. switch (a device to turn electric current on and off or direct its flow)
  8. (wrestling) hold (position or grip used to control the opponent)
  9. (sports) a local sport or game
    Synonym: xogo da chave
  10. type of knot

Synonyms

References

Middle English

Etymology

See ch-.

Verb

chave

  1. I have
    • c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
      Kissyng and lying ich see is all one:
      And chave no mony, chul tell true therfore.

Portuguese

Portuguese Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pt
chave

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese chave (key), from Latin clāvis (key), from Proto-Italic *klāwis (bolt, lock, bar), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂u- (nail, pin, hook - instruments, of old use for locking doors) (possibly through an Ancient Greek intermediate).

Cognate with Galician chave, Spanish llave, Catalan and Occitan clau, French clé, Italian chiave and Romanian cheie. Doublet of clave, a borrowing.

Pronunciation

 
 

  • Rhymes: (Brazil) -avi, (Portugal) -avɨ
  • Hyphenation: cha‧ve

Noun

chave f (plural chaves)

  1. key (object that opens and closes a lock)
    Chave do portãoKey to the gate
  2. key (object that is inserted into a device and rotated to activate it)
    Chave do carroCar key
  3. any of several tools designed to turn screws, bolts, nuts, etc., especially a spanner
    Chave de fenda/chave de fendasScrewdriver
  4. (typography) curly bracket (name of the characters { and })
    Synonym: chaveta
    Coloque o valor entre chaves.
    Put the value between curly brackets.
  5. (figurative) key (crucial step, element or requirement)
    Terminar dentro do prazo é a chave para o sucesso.
    Finishing within schedule is the key to success.
  6. (figurative) keys (free access to something)
  7. (computing) key; password
    Synonym: palavra-passe
  8. (cryptography) key (a string used to encode or decode text)
  9. (databases) key (value that identifies a row in a table)
  10. (music) a key of a wind instrument
  11. (music) tuning lever; tuning wrench; hammer (tool used to tune certain stringed instruments)
  12. winder (key or knob used to wind a clockwork mechanism)
  13. (electricity) the switch of a circuit breaker
  14. (puzzles) the clue to an answer
  15. (sports) group; pool (in a tournament, a set of players or team who play against one another)
  16. (martial arts) joint lock
  17. (rail transport) the mechanism that activates a switch
  18. (architecture) the keystone of a vault
  19. (music, obsolete) Synonym of clave
  20. (taxonomy) clavis; key (groups of information used for identifying a taxon)
    chave dicotômicadichotomous key

Derived terms

Descendants

Adjective

chave (invariable)

  1. key; crucial; indispensable

See also