English

keyholder

From key + holder.

A compound of key + holder

Proto-West Germanic *kaiju

Old English cǣġ ‘key’

Middle English keye ‘a key’

English key

Proto-Germanic *haldaną ‘to hold, to keep’

Proto-West Germanic *haldan ‘to hold’

Old English healdan ‘to hold fast, to grasp’

Middle English holden ‘to hold’

English hold

Today it means

noun An individual or organization with access to a cryptographic key.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / keyholder