keystonen.1adj.
/ˈkiːstəʊn/, U.S. /ˈkiˌstoʊn/ A. n.1† 2. Metallurgy. A cubical block of iron used to fill a space between other structures in a smelting furnace, esp. at each end of a fore-stone. Obsolete.
1.
a. A central stone at the summit of an arch or vault, locking the whole together. Also: an ornamental relief or boss decorating such a stone.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > arch > [noun] > parts of > keystone
key1608
keystonea1637
key-piece1669
sagitta1703
key block1823
a1637 B. Jonson Under-woods xiii. 136 in Wks. (1640) III 'Tis the last Key-stone That makes the Arch.
1692 Building Acct. St. Paul's Cathedral in 14th Vol. Wren Soc. (1937) 102 For Masons & Carve 3 Vawses on the Keystones.
1746 Gentleman's Mag. Aug. 437/2 The key-stone of the last arch of Westminster bridge.
1790 R. Burns Tam o' Shanter 206 in Poems & Songs (1968) II. 563 Now, do thy speedy utmost, Meg, And win the key-stane of the brig.
1805 W. Scott Lay of Last Minstrel ii. ix. 41 The keystone, that locked each ribbed aisle, Was a fleur-de-lys, or a quatre-feuille.
1858 M. Oliphant Laird of Norlaw III. 272 The narrow door, with some forgotten noble's sculptured shield upon its keystone.
1956 R. Macaulay Towers of Trebizond xiv. 158 The Comnenus eagle spreads its wings on the keystone of the great arch.
1999 J. Elliot Unexpected Light (2000) vii. 264 The bold rosettes..reminded me of keystones above medieval doorways in Provence.
b. In figurative contexts: a person or thing occupying a high, central, or vital position in something likened to an arch or similar structure.
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the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > one who is important > one who is essential or has central role
Atlas1589
keystone1641
protagonist1671
firmament1701
leading light1707
pivotman1782
kingpin1858
queen-pin1907
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > that which is important > essential or central
pitheOE
effectc1405
substancec1450
kernel1556
nick1577
keystone1641
vitals1657
narrow1702
secret1738
ganglion1828
nub1833
primality1846
keyword1848
knub1864
buzzword1946
in word1964
1641 J. Jackson True Evangelical Temper iii. 182 Christian Society is..like stones in an arch,..Christ himselfe being the key-stone.
1683 J. Smith Doctr. Church of Eng. conc. Lord's Day v. 170 The whole Fabrick of the World was loosned and ready to fall (this Keistone of the Arch being crumbled into Dust).
1745 W. Warburton Faithful Portrait Popery 30 This [sc. charity] then is the Crown, the Keystone of this heavenly Edifice, this triumphant Arch of Immortality.
1790 R. Burns Tam o' Shanter 69 in Poems & Songs (1968) II. 559 That hour, o' night's black arch the key-stane.
1845 P. J. Bailey Festus (ed. 2) 10 The sun, centre and sire of light, The keystone of the world-built arch of heaven.
1866 W. D. Howells Venetian Life xiii. 192 At the other end of the saloon sat one of the fathers, the plump key-stone of an arch of comfortable young students.
1918 J. A. Lejeune Let. 11 Oct. in N.Y. Times 9 Dec. 4/4 You attacked magnificently and you seized Blanc Mont Ridge, the keystone of the arch constituting the enemy's main position.
2002 J. C. Polkinghorne God of Hope & End of World xii. 140 Eschatology is the keystone of the edifice of theological thinking, holding the whole building together.
c. figurative. The central principle or element of a system, ideology, etc., on which all the rest depends; a vital or essential part of something. Cf. corner-stone n. 1b.
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the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > that which is important > essential or central > upon which something depends
harrec1000
pina1538
key1559
pinch1581
axle-treec1600
axlea1634
fulcrum1668
keystone1722
pivot1748
turning-point1836
landmark1859
axis1860
linchpin1954
1722 J. Covel Some Acct. Greek Church 291 But that which is the Key Stone and clencheth all the rest, (Contrition, Confession, Satisfaction;) and makes all one entire Sacrament, is Absolution.
1787 World & Fashionable Advertiser 20 Nov. Those principles which dignify any station in trade—impart unlimited confidence—and render commerce the basis—the very keystone of this—great people.
1817 S. T. Coleridge Biogr. Lit. 96 Religion, as both the corner stone, and the key-stone of morality.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. vii. 166 The tenet of predestination was the keystone of his religion.
1868 J. E. T. Rogers Man. Polit. Econ. ix. 106 The principle of unlimited liability is the keystone of the system.
1936 Stage June 30/3 But go—if music to you is the keystone of all treasurable experience.
1987 Telford Jrnl. 4 June 6/6 The ice rink, rather than being a liability is one of the keystones of Telford.
2005 Computer Weekly 26 July 10/5 The passports will form the keystone of the Home Office's e-borders project.
d. U.S. More fully old Keystone. (A nickname for) the state of Pennsylvania; = Keystone State n. at Compounds 1. Now rare.With quot. 1803 cf. sense A. 1b.
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the world > the earth > named regions of earth > America > North America > [noun] > United States > specific states > Pennsylvania
Keystone State1831
Pa.1831
keystone1839
Quaker State1844
the world > the earth > named regions of earth > America > North America > [adjective] > U.S.A. > specific states or regions > Pennsylvania
Pennsylvanian1698
keystone1948
1803 Addr. by Democratic Comm. in H. M. Jenkins Pennsylvania (1903) II. xii. 316 Pennsylvania is the Keystone of the democratic arch.]
1839 Liberator 5 Apr. 54/1 Gallant Senator Buchanan, of the old Keystone.
1844 Congress. Globe 4 June 662/3 The old Key-stone has never furnished the Union with either President or Vice President.
1873 W. Carleton Farm Ballads 154 Mid old Key-stone's rugged riches, which the miner's hand await.
1920 A. H. Wharton In Old Pennsylvania Towns i. 14 No state is richer in historic associations than the old Keystone.
1948 Time 21 June 22/3 The control of keystone Pennsylvania was one of the big question marks of the convention.
1972 A. M. Shankman (Ph.D. thesis, Emory Univ.) (title) Conflict in the Old Keystone; anti-war sentiment in Pennsylvania, 1860-65.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > furnace or kiln > furnace > parts of furnace > [noun] > other parts of furnaces
sump1673
stoking-hole1683
stoking-place1744
mid-feather1748
bottoming hole1815
trunnel-head1819
keystone1821
vault1825
well1825
nose-hole1832
fore-stone1839
nose1839
tongs-carriage1839
tunnel-head1843
glory-hole1849
1821 W. Forster Treat. Section Strata Newcastle-upon-Tyne (ed. 2) 378 This Fore-stone is closed in at each end, with a piece of cast-iron, called a Key-stone, being an exact cube of ten inches the side.
1852 J. A. Phillips Man. Metall. 505 The space at each end of the fore-stone is now closed by a cube of cast iron measuring six inches of a side, called a key-stone; two others, of similar dimensions, are used for making good the space between the fore-stone and the back part of the furnace.
1870 J. Percy Metall. Lead 281 The dimensions of the ore-hearth are as follow... Back-stone or pipe-stone... Upper back-stone... Key-stones... Fore-stone.
3. Building. A stone placed transversely so as to connect the inner and outer layers of a wall; = bond-stone n. at bond n.1 Compounds 2. rare.
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society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > disposition of stones or bricks > [noun] > specific stone or brick
hirne-stonec1000
parpen1252
coin1350
coin-stone1350
angler1365
parpal1369
corner-stonea1382
cunye1387
tuss1412
quoin1532
table stone1554
quoining1562
copestone1567
ground-stone1567
lock bandc1582
quinyie1588
perpender1611
whelmer1618
parpen stone1633
capstone1665
headera1684
through1683
quoin-stone1688
stretcher1693
closer1700
bed-stone1723
coping-brick1725
girder1726
footstone1728
heading brick1731
bossage1736
lewis-hole1740
shoulder1744
headstone1745
pawl1753
tail-bond1776
coping-stone1778
slocking-stone1778
throughband1794
through-stone1797
stretching-bond1805
core1823
keystone1823
tail-binder1828
stretching-stone1833
header brick1841
coign1843
pawl-stone1844
bay-stone1845
bonder1845
pillar-stone1854
bond-piece1862
stretcher-brick1867
toothing-stone1875
bond-stone1879
pierpoint1891
jumper1904
tush1905
padstone1944
1823 P. Nicholson New Pract. Builder 339 Key-Stones, a term frequently used for bond-stones.
1985 S. Thorburn in S. Thorburn & J. F. Hutchison Underpinning i. 6 The interval of time between the complete fracturing of all keystones connecting masonry crosswalls, and facades and failure of the load-bearing walls themselves is relatively short, and the effect can be dramatic.
4. Printing and (now chiefly) Printmaking. In colour lithography: a stone on to which the key drawing (key drawing n. 1) is transferred for use as a guide to printing the colours.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > surface and planographic printing > lithography > [noun]
polyautography1803
lithography1813
lithotint1843
keystone1854
stone-engraving1891
litho1972
1854 1st Ann. Rep. Dept. Sci. & Art App. F. 216 Outlines in ink or keystones are carefully practised, preparatory to the study of chromo-lithography.
1875 R. Hunt & F. W. Rudler Ure's Dict. Arts (ed. 7) III. 135 A drawing of the subject, in outline,..is made..when transferred to a stone, this drawing is called the keystone, and it serves as a guide to all the others, for it must be transferred to as many different stones as there are colours in the subject.
1889 Pall Mall Gaz. 23 Jan. 3/1 ‘Offsets’..are tracings of those portions of matter in the keystone which are to go in each colour, an offset for the red, one for the blue, and so on.
1933 N. Montague Art & Pract. Printing viii. 57 An impression is taken upon this from the outline or key stone or plate, and the other colours are then patched on to this..key in turn.
1980 A. Griffiths Prints & Printmaking 120 The artist usually first makes a preliminary sketch of his composition, and from this draws the outline of the design on to a key-stone.
B. adj. (attributive).
Originally U.S. Central, vital, most important. Cf. key adj.
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the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > essential or central
cardinal1440
material1603
primal1619
real1620
centrical1659
vital1659
essential1770
nucleal1826
key1832
pivotal1837
keystone1846
pivot1861
quintessential1901
central1902
core1962
1846 Daily Sentinel & Gaz. (Milwaukee, Wisconsin Territory) 30 Dec. Arrogating to themselves to be the exponents of democratic principles they set at defiance the key stone principle of the party.
1871 N.Y. Herald 8 May 6/6 This was the keystone question of his administration.
1893 G. M. Gould Meaning & Method of Life iii. 58 It is the chief and keystone article of the creed of the coming religion.
1971 French Hist. Stud. 7 208 Prussia and Germany played keystone rôles in this envisaged French alliance system.
1981 Amer. Banker (Nexis) 4 Feb. A revolution in technology that has made the demand deposit account the keystone product of retail banking.
2000 B. Geddes World Food: Mexico 30 Mole..has become one of the keystone dishes in Mexican cuisine.
Compounds
C1. Compounds of the noun.† keystone mill n. Obsolete rare a kind of mill used for grinding bark for tanning.
keystone correction n. Cinematography, Television, and Photography a method of compensating for the keystone effect; the functionality for making such compensations.
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1936 U.S. Patent 2,040,813 2/2 If required, in some systems, the methods for keystone correction in Figs. 1 and 4 may be used together.
1979 Amer. Libraries 10 92/3 The equipment contains a built-in electronic Keystone Correction,..preventing elongated, angular pictures.
2008 C. Tyler X Power Tools i. 15 Keystone correction permits the sides of the image to be slanted..so that the image will appear rectangular when projected onto the screen at an angle.
keystone effect n. chiefly Cinematography, Television, and Photography a distorting effect whereby a rectangular object produces a trapezoidal image, typically as a result of a line of projection, or an optical axis, not being at right angles to a screen. [With reference to the resemblance of such an image to the typical shape of the keystone of an arch.]
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1911 Cycl. Motion-picture Work I. 58 The keystone effect may be entirely corrected for small angles by setting the lantern slide eccentric to the lens.
1967 Electronics 6 Mar. 79/1 (advt.) The electron gun is set at an angle to the phosphor and the deflection system compensates for keystone effects.
2010 F. Gallaugher Olympus E-P1 46 This feature is a godsend. It is particularly useful in controlling the keystone effect.
keystone mask n. Architecture a sculpture or relief of a person's face used to decorate a keystone.
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1855 J. Timbs Curiosities of London 536 Marble keystone mask from Pompeii.
1890 Daily News 26 Nov. 7/3 The quite famous sculptured keystone-masks on the east and west sides of the central arch of Henley Bridge.
1980 Rec. Columbia Hist. Soc. 50 318 The artist who executed these spandrel figures and keystone masks is unknown.
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1881 Spons' Encycl. Industr. Arts IV. 1227 The well known American ‘keystone’ mill, in which the preliminary breaking is accomplished by the arms A; the bark is then finely ground by the toothed cones N.
keystone picture n. Cinematography (now rare) a picture distorted by the keystone effect.
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1914 J. B. Rathbun Motion Picture Making vi. 126 To avoid the keystone picture, the angle of the lens must be sufficiently great to bring in the edges.
1949 A. H. Lytel TV Picture Projection & Enlargem. iv. 101 This results in normal picture since the keystone picture on the tube face is ‘de-keystoned’ by its passage through the optical system.
Keystone State n. U.S. (a nickname for) the state of Pennsylvania. [Apparently arising partly from the address cited in quot. 1803 at sense A. 1d, and partly from Pennsylvania's central position among the thirteen original states.]
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the world > the earth > named regions of earth > America > North America > [noun] > United States > specific states > Pennsylvania
Keystone State1831
Pa.1831
keystone1839
Quaker State1844
1831 Daily National Intelligencer (Washington) 19 May What will the ‘Key-stone’ State say to such an impudent charge brought against the whole body of her Legislature.
1904 N.Y. Amer. 4 Apr. 4 The Pennsylvania men agreed with the Tammany leader that the Keystone State should send an uninstructed delegation.
1996 Mid-Atlantic Weekends Spring 107/2 From world-class symphony orchestras to bountiful hunting and fishing, the Keystone State has something to suit almost every visitor.
C2. Compounds of the adjective.
keystone species n. Ecology a species exerting a major influence on an ecosystem, esp. one on whose activities the survival of other species depends.
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1969 R. T. Paine in Amer. Naturalist 103 92 These individual populations are the keystone of the community's structure, and the integrity of the community and its unaltered persistence through time, that is, stability, are determined by their activities and abundances... The two keystone species discussed above have little in common.
1989 Green Mag. Oct. 7/3 Elephants are a keystone species in the foodweb for other animals, clearing the bush, opening up water holes, and dispersing seeds.
2009 Independent 2 Nov. 13/3 The huarango..is the ecological keystone species in the desert zone.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2012; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
Keystonen.2
/ˈkiːstəʊn/, U.S. /ˈkiˌstoʊn/ I. Compounds.
1. attributive. Designating a film produced by Keystone Studios, esp. a comedy featuring the Keystone Kops, a group of incompetent policemen often involved in farcical situations or frenetic slapstick; relating to or featuring in such a film. In extended use: reminiscent of the Keystone Kops; farcical, slapstick.
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society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > cinematography > a film > type of film > [adjective] > other types
costumed1851
foreign language1904
first run1910
Keystone1912
photodramatic1914
serial1915
coming of age1919
edge-of-your-seat1922
psychodramatic1927
omnibus1928
straight1936
low-budget1937
no-budget1937
screwball1937
Ealing1939
blockbusting1943
private eye1946
film noir1952
white telephone1952
portmanteau1953
uncut1953
anthology1955
three-D1955
Hammer1958
noir1958
co-production1959
kitchen sink1959
kidult1960
docudrama1961
cinéma vérité1963
maudit1963
filmi1965
indie1968
triple-X1969
XXX1969
drama-documentary1970
cheapie1973
gross-out1973
high concept1973
chopsocky1974
hard R1974
buddy movie1975
sci-fi1977
mondo1979
hack-and-slash1981
microbudget1981
hack-and-slay1982
slice-and-dice1982
fly on the wall1983
psychotronic1983
noirish1985
Mad Max1986
stoner1987
bonkbusting1993
straight to DVD1997
1912 Hamilton (Ohio) Evening Jrnl. 1 Oct. 5/6 Tuesday night's photoplays include ‘The New Neighbors’, a Keystone comedy with Mary Normand, the former Biograph diving girl in the leads.
1918 R. H. Knyvett ‘Over There’ with Australians 54 We received at this time the nickname ‘Keystone soldiers’, some genial ass conceiving that we looked as funny as the Keystone police.
1965 H. MacInnes Double Image (1967) ii. 37 It was like one of those old Keystone comedies—everyone gesticulating wildly.
1980 Ukiah (Calif.) Daily Jrnl. 5 Oct. 3/2 Relying as much on theatrics as music, their style was a lively mixture of vaudeville and vintage keystone humor.
1999 Washington Post (Nexis) 5 Sept. x. 15 I..never laughed out loud at all, even when events veered toward bedroom farce or Keystone comedy.
2. Keystone cop n. (also Keystone Kop) a person (esp. a police officer) likened to one of the Keystone Kops; also used allusively and in similes describing shambolic or farcical situations.
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1917 Racine (Wisconsin) Jrnl.-News 10 Oct. 2/3 Waco's traffic rules are enforced by policemen (the soldiers call them Keystone cops) who smoke cigarets while on duty.
1955 F. Scully Cross my Heart 44 When we reached East Orange we found the fire surrounded by what looked like Keystone Cops.
1964 W. Markfield To Early Grave x. 168 He was straddling the running board like a Keystone cop.
1990 Independent (Nexis) 26 Mar. 28 McClennan had asked his players to keep their heads and cut out the ‘Keystone Cops’ football.
2011 Times (S. Afr.) (Nexis) 9 Mar. A police state is one thing. Imagine being ruled by this bunch of Keystone cops!
II. Simple uses.
3. A film, esp. a comedy, produced by Keystone Studios. Now historical.
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society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > cinematography > a film > type of film > [noun] > silent
Keystone1914
silent1928
1914 Cinema in G. D. McDonald et al. Films of Charlie Chaplin (1965) 34 The sensation of the year is the success of Chas. Chaplin, whom trade reviewers declare far funnier in Keystones than even in ‘Mumming Birds’.
1915 Manitoba Free Press 13 Feb. 2/4 The latest Keystone, ‘His New Job’, which will be shown at the Bijou on Monday.
1973 G. Mast Comic Mind (1979) v. 48 Sennett claimed that his first Keystone was..shot within a half hour of their arrival in California.
2004 Times 9 Oct. 24 ‘Kid Auto Races’ at Venice, one of four restored Chaplin Keystones from 1914 at the festival.
4. slang (originally U.S.). A police officer, esp. one in uniform. Cf. Keystone cop n. at sense 2.
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society > law > law enforcement > law-enforcement or peace-officer > [noun]
grithsergeant1293
Officer of the Lawc1380
peace officer1649
town officer1667
constable?c1682
myrmidon1699
limb of the law1730
ossifer1819
eirenarch1867
Keystone1929
lawman1959
1929 Sat. Evening Post 13 Apr. 54/3 A detective is a dummy, or a keystone, or Johnny Law, or a dick.
1935 A. J. Pollock Underworld Speaks 66/2 Keystone, a special, uniformed police officer.
1969 J. Wainwright Big Tickle 162 Get the keystones in the act. They watch. We perform.
1971 A. Hunter Gently at Gallop i. 6 The local Keystones move in demanding alibis.
2008 J. Bannister Closer Still xxii. 228 The local Keystones had been right and the situation was contained.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
keystonev.
/ˈkiːstəʊn/, U.S. /ˈkiˌstoʊn/ 1. transitive (frequently in passive).
a. To act as a keystone for (an arch, etc.); to provide with a keystone. Frequently in figurative contexts.
ΚΠ
1846 Weekly Chron. 27 Dec. 1/3 Fat ribs of beef support an arch keystoned by loaves of bread.
1887 Birmingham Daily Post 11 Mar. 4/7 Above the side arches, keystoned with the Birmingham arms, will run the words ‘Long may she reign’.
1920 Chicago Sunday Tribune 13 June ii. 8/1 (advt.) The foundation of conservatism that keystones the arch of investment.
2007 J. Gifford Perth & Kinross 138 A datestone set in a roundel which is keystoned at the cardinal points.
b. figurative. To be the central principle or element of; to cause to cohere or hold together.
ΚΠ
1880 R. H. Newton Char. Jesus 7 in Stud. Jesus The historical saint and sage who lived and taught eighteen centuries ago in Galilee, and keystoned humanity's progress in himself.
1905 Collier's 17 June 18/1 The mammoth errand [sc. the Lewis and Clark Expedition] was keystoned by something better than idle curiosity.
1980 Newsweek (Nexis) 7 Apr. 56 Bunker..manages an empire that is keystoned by..one of the largest independent oil companies in the nation.
2001 D. K. Emmerson in S. W. Simon Many Faces of Asian Security iv. 91 Deterrence did become the leitmotif of security policy discourse. NATO keystoned the corresponding architecture.
2. transitive. To give the shape of a keystone to, to make trapezoidal. Now chiefly Cinematography, Television, and Photography: to distort (an image) by the keystone effect.
ΚΠ
1937 U.S. Patent 2,076,543 4/1 Such a material is formed by keystoning the portions 17 and 18 of the forming dies. By this is meant giving these portions a transverse wedge shape.
1940 V. K. Zworykin & G. A. Morton Television xv. 473 If the complete sawtooth..is a modulation, the shape will be keystoned.
1973 Spaghetti City Video Man. 75 The magnet not only makes the picture out of focus, but also skews or keystones the picture on the viewfinder screen.
2012 N. J. Medoff & E. J. Fink Portable Video (ed. 6) iv. 94 (caption) The angle here causes the train to be keystoned and the other parallel lines to converge on the vanishing point.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1adj.a1637
n.21912v.1846- pre-engineered
- pre-english
- pre-entail
- pre-entertain
- pre-entry
- pre-epic
- pre-epileptic
- pre-equipment
- pre-erected
- pre-erythrocytic
- pre-essential
- pre-establish
- pre-established
- pre-established harmonist
- pre-established harmony
- pre-establisher
- pre-establishing
- pre-establishment
- pre-estimate
- pre-eternity
- pre-european
- pre-evangelism
- pre-evite
- pre-evolutional
- pre-evolutionary