different between pin vs key

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: p?n, IPA^(key): /p?n/, [p??n]
• Rhymes: -?n
• Homophone: pen (pin-pen merger)

Etymology 1

From Middle English pinne, from Old English pinn (“pin, peg, bolt”), from Proto-Germanic *pinnaz, *pinn?, *pint- (“protruding point, peak, peg, pin, nail”), from Proto-Indo-European *bend- (“protruding object, pointed peg, nail, edge”).

Cognate with Dutch pin (“peg, pin”), Low German pin, pinne (“pin, point, nail, peg”), German Pinn, Pinne (“pin, tack, peg”), Bavarian Pfonzer, Pfunzer (“sharpened point”), Danish pind (“pin, pointed stick”), Norwegian pinn (“stick”), Swedish pinne (“peg, rod, stick”), Icelandic pinni (“pin”). More at pintle.

No relation to classical Latin pinna (“fin, flipper, wing-like appendage, wing, feather”), which was extended to mean "ridge, peak, point" (compare pinnacle), and often confused with Latin penna (“wing, feather”). More at feather.

Noun

pin (plural pins)

1. A needle without an eye (usually) made of drawn-out steel wire with one end sharpened and the other flattened or rounded into a head, used for fastening.
2. A small nail with a head and a sharp point.
3. A cylinder often of wood or metal used to fasten or as a bearing between two parts.

4. (wrestling, professional wrestling) The victory condition of holding the opponent's shoulders on the wrestling mat for a prescribed period of time.
5. A slender object specially designed for use in a specific game or sport, such as skittles or bowling.
7. (informal, in the plural) A leg.

8. (electricity) Any of the individual connecting elements of a multipole electrical connector.

9. A piece of jewellery that is attached to clothing with a pin.
10. (US) A simple accessory that can be attached to clothing with a pin or fastener, often round and bearing a design, logo or message, and used for decoration, identification or to show political affiliation, etc.

    Synonyms: lapel pin, badge

11. (chess) A scenario in which moving a lesser piece to escape from attack would expose a more valuable piece to attack.
12. (golf) The flagstick: the flag-bearing pole which marks the location of a hole
13. (curling) The spot at the exact centre of the house (the target area)
14. (dated) A mood, a state of being.
    • 1653, Henry More, An Antidote Against Atheism

      he had made the sign of the Cross on his head; for he was then on a merry pin and full of jearing

15. One of a row of pegs in the side of an ancient drinking cup to mark how much each person should drink.
16. (medicine, obsolete) Caligo.
17. A thing of small value; a trifle.

    • He […] did not care a pin for her.

18. A peg in musical instruments for increasing or relaxing the tension of the strings.
19. (engineering) A short shaft, sometimes forming a bolt, a part of which serves as a journal.
20. The tenon of a dovetail joint.
21. (Britain, brewing) A size of brewery cask, equal to half a firkin, or eighth of a barrel.
22. (informal) A pinball machine.
    • 1949, Billboard (volume 61, page 82)

      Attracted by game operation, many invested heavily in pins and rolldowns prior to last spring.

Synonyms

• (small nail): nail, tack
• (cylinder of wood or metal): peg
• (games): skittle
• (jewellery fastened with a pin): brooch

Hyponyms

• (jewellery fastened with a pin): breastpin
• (chess): absolute pin, relative pin, partial pin

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• needle

Verb

pin (third-person singular simple present pins, present participle pinning, simple past and past participle pinned)

1. (often followed by a preposition such as "to" or "on") To fasten or attach (something) with a pin.
2. (chess, usually passive) To cause (a piece) to be in a pin.
3. (wrestling) To pin down (someone).

   He pinned his opponent on the mat.

4. To enclose; to confine; to pen; to pound.
5. (computing, graphical user interface, transitive) To attach (an icon, application, message etc.) to another item so that it persists.

6. (computing, transitive) To fix (an array in memory, a security certificate, etc.) so that it cannot be modified.

7. To cause an analog gauge to reach the stop pin at the high end of the range.

   Synonym: peg

   • 1979, Al Greenwood and Lou Gramm, "Rev on the Red Line" from Head Games:

     Now I need to pin those needles.

Derived terms

• pin down
• pin in
• pin on
• pin the meter
• pin the tail on the donkey
• pin up
• underpin

Translations

Etymology 2

Verb

pin (third-person singular simple present pins, present participle pinning, simple past and past participle pinned)

1. Alternative form of peen

Anagrams

• NIP, NPI, Nip, nip

Catalan

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA^(key): /?pin/

Noun

pin m (plural pins)

1. (electronics) lead
2. pin (ornament)

Chuukese

Adjective

pin

1. holy

Synonyms

• fen

Cimbrian

Verb

pin

1. first-person singular present indicative of zèinan: am

Cornish

Noun

pin f (singulative pinen)

1. pines

Synonyms

• sab

Danish

Verb

pin

1. imperative of pine

Dutch

Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *pinnaz *pinnaz, *pinn?, *pint- (“protruding point, peak, peg, pin, nail”), from Proto-Indo-European *bend- 'protruding object, pointed peg, nail, edge'. Cognate with English pin, Low German pin, pinne (“pin, point, nail, peg”), German Pinn, Pinne (“pin, tack, peg”), Bavarian Pfonzer, Pfunzer (“sharpened point”), Danish pind (“pin, pointed stick”), Norwegian pinn (“stick”), Swedish pinne (“peg, rod, stick”), Icelandic pinni (“pin”).

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -?n
• IPA^(key): /p?n/

Noun

pin f (plural pinnen, diminutive pinnetje n)

1. peg, pin

Etymology 2

Abbreviation

Noun

pin

1. Abbreviation of persoonlijk identificatienummer.

Etymology 3

Verb

pin

1. first-person singular present indicative of pinnen
2. imperative of pinnen

Anagrams

• nip

French

Etymology

From Old French pin, from Latin p?nus, ultimately from a derivative of Proto-Indo-European *poi- (“sap, juice”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p??/
• Homophones: pain, peins, peint

Noun

pin m (plural pins)

1. pine, pine tree

Derived terms

• noix de pin
• pomme de pin

Further reading

• “pin” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Friulian

Etymology

From Latin p?nus.

Noun

pin m (plural pins)

1. pine tree

Indonesian

Etymology

From Dutch pin, from Proto-Germanic *pinnaz *pinnaz, *pinn?, *pint- (“protruding point, peak, peg, pin, nail”), from Proto-Indo-European *bend- 'protruding object, pointed peg, nail, edge'.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?p?n]
• Hyphenation: pin

Noun

pin

1. pin
   1. (colloquial) a needle without an eye (usually) made of drawn-out steel wire with one end sharpened and the other flattened or rounded into a head, used for fastening.

      Synonym: peniti

   2. a slender object specially designed for use in a specific game or sport, such as skittles or bowling.
2. (colloquial) peg.

   Synonym: pasak

Further reading

• “pin” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (KBBI) Daring, Jakarta: Badan Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa, Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia, 2016.

Japanese

Romanization

pin

1. R?maji transcription of ??

Latvian

Verb

pin

1. 2nd person singular present indicative form of p?t
2. 3rd person singular present indicative form of p?t
3. 3rd person plural present indicative form of p?t
4. 2nd person singular imperative form of p?t
5. (with the particle lai) 3rd person singular imperative form of p?t
6. (with the particle lai) 3rd person plural imperative form of p?t

Mandarin

Romanization

pin

1. Nonstandard spelling of p?n.
2. Nonstandard spelling of pín.
3. Nonstandard spelling of p?n.
4. Nonstandard spelling of pìn.

Usage notes

• English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

Mapudungun

Verb

pin (using Raguileo Alphabet)

1. To say
2. To tell (a story).
3. first-person singular realis form of pin

Synonyms

• (tell a story): nvxamyen

Papantla Totonac

Noun

pin inan

1. chili. chili pepper.

References

• Crescencio García Ramos, Diccionario Básico Totonaco-Español Español-Totonaco (Xalapa, Academia Veracruzana de las Lenguas Indígenas, 2007)

Ojibwe

Noun

pin anim (plural piniig, diminutive piniins, locative piniing, pejorative pinish)

1. potato

Rawang

Etymology

Compare Chinese ? (b?ng).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p?in?/

Noun

pin

1. army.
2. soldier.

Synonyms

• (army): dap, pindap, sìl
• (soldier): pinla, sìlsè

Romanian

Etymology

From Latin p?nus, ultimately from a derivative of Proto-Indo-European *poi- (“sap, juice”).

Noun

pin m (plural pini)

1. pine

Declension

See also

• brad

Romansch

Alternative forms

• (Rumantsch Grischun) pign
• (Sursilvan) pégn
• (Sutsilvan, Surmiran) pegn

Etymology

From Latin p?nus.

Noun

pin m

1. (Puter, Vallader) spruce, fir

Synonyms

• (spruce): (Vallader) petsch

Seta

Noun

pin

1. woman

References

• transnewguinea.org, citing D. C. Laycock, Languages of the Lumi Subdistrict (West Sepik District), New Guinea (1968), Oceanic Linguistics, 7 (1): 36-66

Spanish

Etymology 1

Borrowed from English pin

Noun

pin m (plural pines)

1. pin, lapel pin, badge

   Synonym: insignia

2. (electricity) pin (any of the individual connecting elements of a multipole electrical connector)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English PIN, acronym of personal identification number

Alternative forms

• PIN

Noun

pin m (plural pines)

1. PIN, PIN number

Swedish

Etymology 1

Clipping of pinsam, with the same meaning.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?pi?n/

Adjective

pin (comparative mer pin, superlative mest pin)

1. (colloquial) embarrasing

Declension

Invariable, not used in the definite form.

Etymology 2

From pina.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?pi?n/

Noun

pin

1. pain, torment

Derived terms

• om man vill vara fin, får man lida pin; vill man vara fin, får man lida pin

Adverb

pin (not comparable)

1. (colloquial) very, really, super-

   Synonyms: jätte-, väldigt

Derived terms

• på pin kiv

Etymology 3

Borrowed from English pin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?p?n/

Noun

pin n

1. Alternative form of pins

Usage notes

The form with -s is recommended since it's easier to decline in Swedish.

References

• pin in Nationalencyklopedin (needs an authorization fee).

Turkish

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish ???? (pin), borrowed from a dialectal form of Armenian ????? (buyn, “nest”).

Noun

pin (definite accusative pini, plural pinler)

1. (dialectal) coop for poultry

Declension

Synonyms

• kümes

References

• A?a?ean, Hra??eay (1971–1979) , “????”, in Hayer?n armatakan ba?aran [Dictionary of Armenian Root Words] (in Armenian), 2nd edition, reprint of the original 1926–1935 seven-volume edition, Yerevan: University Press
• “pin”, in Türkiye'de halk a?z?ndan derleme sözlü?ü [Compilation Dictionary of Popular Speech in Turkey] (in Turkish), Ankara: Türk Dil Kurumu, 1963–1982

Vietnamese

Etymology

Borrowed from French pile.

Pronunciation

• (Hà N?i) IPA^(key): [pin??]
• (Hu?) IPA^(key): [pin??]
• (H? Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [p?n??]

Noun

(classifier c?c) pin

1. a battery
2. the amount of electricity that a battery holds

Derived terms

• ?èn pin (“torch, flashlight”)

Welsh

Etymology 1

From Latin p?nus (compare Middle Irish pín).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pi?n/

Noun

pin m or m pl (uncountable)

1. pine (tree)
2. pine (wood)

Usage notes

Modern Welsh orthography prefers the form pin to the superseded form pîn.

Synonyms

• pinwydd f pl

Derived terms

• pin-afal

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p?n/

Noun

pin m (plural pinnau)

1. Superseded spelling of pìn.

Usage notes

Modern Welsh orthography uses pìn instead of the superseded form pin.

Mutation

References

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present) , “pin”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

Yapese

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *papine, from Proto-Austronesian *bahi (“woman”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p?n/

Noun

pin

1. woman

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: k?, IPA^(key): /ki?/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ki/
• IPA^(key): [?k??i?]
• Rhymes: -i?
• Homophones: cay, quay

Etymology 1

From Middle English keye, kaye, kei?e, from Old English c??, c??e, c?ga (“key, solution, experiment”) (whence also Scots key and kay (“key”)), of uncertain origin. Related to Old English c?ggian (“to lock, shut”). The only sure cognates are Saterland Frisian Koai (“key”), West Frisian kaai (“key”), and North Frisian kay (“key”). Possibly from Proto-Germanic *k?gaz, *k?guz (“stake, post, pole”), from Proto-Indo-European *?og?-, *?eg?-, *?eg?n- (“branch, stake, bush”), which would make it cognate with Middle Low German k?k (“whipping post, pillory”), and perhaps to Middle Dutch keige (“javelin, spear”) and Middle Low German keie, keige (“spear”). For the semantic development, note that medieval keys were simply long poles (ending in a hook) with which a crossbar obstructing a door from the inside could be removed from the outside, by lifting it through a hole in the door. Liberman has noted, however, "The original meaning of *kaig-jo- was presumably '*pin with a twisted end.' Words with the root *kai- followed by a consonant meaning 'crooked, bent; twisted' are common only in the North Germanic languages."

Noun

key (plural keys)

1. An object designed to open and close a lock.
2. An object designed to fit between two other objects (such as a shaft and a wheel) in a mechanism and maintain their relative orientation.
3. A crucial step or requirement.

   • Those who are accustomed to reason have got the true key of books.

   • who keeps the keys of all the creeds

4. A guide explaining the symbols or terminology of a map or chart; a legend.

5. A guide to the correct answers of a worksheet or test.

6. (computing) One of several small, usually square buttons on a typewriter or computer keyboard, mostly corresponding to text characters.

7. (music)
   1. In musical instruments, one of the valve levers used to select notes, such as a lever opening a hole on a woodwind.
   2. In instruments with a keyboard such as an organ or piano, one of the levers, or especially the exposed front end of it, which are depressed to cause a particular sound or note to be produced.
8. (music)
   1. The lowest note of a scale; keynote.
   2. In musical theory, the total melodic and harmonic relations, which exist between the tones of an ideal scale, major or minor; tonality.
   3. In musical theory and notation, the tonality centering in a given tone, or the several tones taken collectively, of a given scale, major or minor.
   4. In musical notation, a sign at the head of a staff indicating the musical key.
   • 1881, R.L. Stevenson, Virginibus Puerisque:

     A girl, it is true, has always lived in a glass house among reproving relatives, whose word was law; she has been bred up to sacrifice her judgments and take the key submissively from dear papa; and it is wonderful how swiftly she can change her tune into the husband's.

9. (figuratively) The general pitch or tone of a sentence or utterance.
   • ?, William Cowper, Conversation

     You fall at once into a lower key.

10. (advertising) A modification of an advertisement so as to target a particular group or demographic.
    • 1998, Mail Order Success Secrets

      Another popular way to key ads and mailings is to use a suite number, room number, department number, desk number, etc. as part of the ordering address. With a classified ad, using such a key may increase your ad cost.

11. (botany) An indehiscent, one-seeded fruit furnished with a wing, such as the fruit of the ash and maple; a samara.
12. (historical) A manual electrical switching device primarily used for the transmission of Morse code.
13. (cryptography) A piece of information (e.g. a passphrase) used to encode or decode a message or messages.
14. (Internet) A password restricting access to an IRC channel.
    • 2000, "Robert Erdec", Re: Help; mIRC32; unable to resolve server arnes.si (on newsgroup alt.irc.mirc)

      if you know someone who is in the channel, you can query them and ask for the key.

15. (databases) In a relational database, a field used as an index into another table (not necessarily unique).
16. (computing) A value that uniquely identifies an entry in a container.
17. (basketball) The free-throw lane together with the circle surrounding the free-throw line, the free-throw lane having formerly been narrower, giving the area the shape of a skeleton key hole.

18. (biology) A series of logically organized groups of discriminating information which aims to allow the user to correctly identify a taxon.
19. (architecture) A piece of wood used as a wedge.
20. (architecture) The last board of a floor when laid down.
21. (masonry) A keystone.
22. That part of the plastering which is forced through between the laths and holds the rest in place.
23. (rail transport) A wooden support for a rail on the bullhead rail system.
24. The degree of roughness, or retention ability of a surface to have applied a liquid such as paint, or glue.

25. (cartomancy) The thirty-third card of the Lenormand deck.
26. (print and film) The black ink layer, especially in relation to the three color layers of cyan, magenta, and yellow. See also CMYK.
27. (computer graphics, television) A color to be masked or made transparent.
    • 2004, Mark Schmidt, ?Simon Robinson, Microsoft Visual C# .NET 2003 Developer's Cookbook (page 195)

      You can easily create this type of user interface by creating a bitmap with certain portions set to a predefined color you want to use as the transparency key.

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

• clef
• scale
• key on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Key in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Adjective

key (comparative more key, superlative most key)

1. Indispensable, supremely important.

   He is the key player on his soccer team.

   • 2007, Mark H. Moss, Shopping as an Entertainment Experience (page 46)

     Lukas intimates that one of Disney's key attractions was "Main Street USA,” which "mimicked a downtown business district just as Southdale" had done.
2. Important, salient.

   She makes several key points.

Translations

Verb

key (third-person singular simple present keys, present participle keying, simple past and past participle keyed)

1. To fit (a lock) with a key.
2. To fit (pieces of a mechanical assembly) with a key to maintain the orientation between them.
3. To mark or indicate with a symbol indicating membership in a class.
   • 1996 January, Garden Dsign Ideas, second printing, Taunton Press, ?ISBN, page 25,

     So I worked on a tissue-paper copy of the perimeter plan, outlining groupings of plants of the same species and keying them with letters for the species.

   • 2001, Bruce M. Metzger, The Bible in Translation, ?ISBN, page 87,

     The volume closes with thirty pages of "Notes, critical and explanatory," in which Thomson provides seventy-six longer or shorter notes keyed to specific sections of the synopsis.

   • 2002, Karen Bromley, Stretching Students' Vocabulary, ?ISBN, page 12,

     Talk about similarities between the words and write them below to the left of the anchor, keying them with a plus sign (+). Talk about the characteristics that set the words apart and list them below the box to the right, keying them with a tilde sign (~).

   • 2007, Stephen Blake Mettee, Michelle Doland, and Doris Hall, compilers, The American Directory of Writer's Guidelines, 6th ("2007–2008") edition, ?ISBN, page 757,

     Indicate the comparative value of each heading by keying it with a number in pencil, in the left margin, as follows: […]

4. (telegraphy and radio telegraphy) To depress (a telegraph key).
5. (radio) To operate (the transmitter switch of a two-way radio).
6. (computing) (more usually to key in) To enter (information) by typing on a keyboard or keypad.

   Our instructor told us to key in our user IDs.

7. (colloquial) To vandalize (a car, etc.) by scratching with an implement such as a key.

   He keyed the car that had taken his parking spot.

8. To link (as one might do with a key or legend).
   • 1960, Richard L. Masland, "Classification of the Epilepsies", in Epilepsia, volume 1, page 516,

     The American Heart Association has prepared their own guide to classification and, keying it with the Standard Nomenclature of Diseases, have done much to encourage a concise yet complete diagnosis.
9. (intransitive, biology, chiefly taxonomy) To be identified as a certain taxon when using a key.
10. (advertising, transitive) To modify (an advertisement) so as to target a particular group or demographic.
    • 1936, John Freeman Pyle, Marketing Principles, Organization and Policies (page 711)

      Keying advertisements and counting the number of inquiries received or the number of coupons returned to indicate the "pulling power" of a particular piece of copy or the coverage of a particular advertising medium.

    • 1998, Mail Order Success Secrets

      Another popular way to key ads and mailings is to use a suite number, room number, department number, desk number, etc. as part of the ordering address. With a classified ad, using such a key may increase your ad cost. Why? Because you're using an extra word or two to key the ad.

11. To attune to; to set at; to pitch.
12. To fasten or secure firmly; to fasten or tighten with keys or wedges.

    (Can we find and add a quotation of Francis to this entry?)

Derived terms

• key in
• key off
• key out
• keyed up

Translations

References

Etymology 2

Variant of cay, from Spanish cayo, from Taíno cayo (“small island”)

Alternative forms

• cay

Noun

key (plural keys)

1. One of a string of small islands.

   the Florida Keys

Derived terms

• Florida Keys
• Key West

Translations

Etymology 3

Noun

key (plural keys)

1. Alternative form of quay.

Etymology 4

Abbreviating kilogram, via kilo.

Noun

key (plural keys)

1. (slang) Clipping of kilogram (especially of a recreational drug)

   Synonym: kay

   • 2010, David J. Silas, Da Block (page 41)

     So starting with ten keys of cocaine and two keys of heroin, Derrick put his plan in motion. Soon every major drug dealer and gang chief from Chicago Avenue to Evanston was in his pocket.

Anagrams

• Kye, kye

Central Kurdish

Adverb

key (key)

1. when

Manx

Etymology 1

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

key m (genitive singular [please provide], plural [please provide])

1. cream

Derived terms

• key blinkit
• key feayr
• key riojey, key riojit

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

key m (genitive singular keyee)

1. (nautical) quay

Mutation