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keynote
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Keynote \Key"note`\, n.
1. (Mus.) The tonic or first tone of the scale in which a
piece or passage is written; the fundamental tone of the
chord, to which all the modulations of the piece are
referred; -- called also key tone.
[1913 Webster]
2. The fundamental fact or idea; that which gives the key;
as, the keynote of a policy or a sermon.
[1913 Webster]
