Etymograph

English

keynote

From key + note.

A compound of key + note

Proto-West Germanic *kaiju

Old English cǣġ ‘key’

Middle English keye ‘a key’

English key

Latin nota ‘mark’

Old English not ‘note’

Middle English note

English note

Today it means

noun A speech that sets the main theme of a conference or other gathering; a keynote speech or keynote address.

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

Etymograph / keynote