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keyboard

KEE-bord · noun

English

Origin

Keyboard comes straight from key plus board, joined to name the flat panel of keys on an instrument or machine.

Journey

The word has stayed close to its literal roots: a board fitted with keys, whether on a piano or, later, a typewriter or computer.

Related words

It shares its first half with every other 'key' word in English — key itself — though no other cognate is given here.

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