Hypertext Webster Gateway: "keynote"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
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}.
2. The fundamental fact or idea; that which gives the key;
as, the keynote of a policy or a sermon.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
keynote
n 1: the principal theme in a speech or literary work
2: a fundamental or central idea
3: (music) the first note of a diatonic scale [syn: {tonic}]
v 1: set the keynote of; "Comfort keynotes this designer's Fall
collection"
2: give the keynote address to (an audience)
Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents;
see the Webster Gateway FAQ,
and also the Back-end/database links and credits.