What's the difference between key and signature?

Key


Definition:

  • (n.) An instrument by means of which the bolt of a lock is shot or drawn; usually, a removable metal instrument fitted to the mechanism of a particular lock and operated by turning in its place.
  • (n.) An instrument which is turned like a key in fastening or adjusting any mechanism; as, a watch key; a bed key, etc.
  • (n.) That part of an instrument or machine which serves as the means of operating it; as, a telegraph key; the keys of a pianoforte, or of a typewriter.
  • (n.) A position or condition which affords entrance, control, pr possession, etc.; as, the key of a line of defense; the key of a country; the key of a political situation. Hence, that which serves to unlock, open, discover, or solve something unknown or difficult; as, the key to a riddle; the key to a problem.
  • (n.) That part of a mechanism which serves to lock up, make fast, or adjust to position.
  • (n.) A piece of wood used as a wedge.
  • (n.) The last board of a floor when laid down.
  • (n.) A keystone.
  • (n.) That part of the plastering which is forced through between the laths and holds the rest in place.
  • (n.) A wedge to unite two or more pieces, or adjust their relative position; a cotter; a forelock.
  • (n.) A bar, pin or wedge, to secure a crank, pulley, coupling, etc., upon a shaft, and prevent relative turning; sometimes holding by friction alone, but more frequently by its resistance to shearing, being usually embedded partly in the shaft and partly in the crank, pulley, etc.
  • (n.) An indehiscent, one-seeded fruit furnished with a wing, as the fruit of the ash and maple; a samara; -- called also key fruit.
  • (n.) A family of tones whose regular members are called diatonic tones, and named key tone (or tonic) or one (or eight), mediant or three, dominant or five, subdominant or four, submediant or six, supertonic or two, and subtonic or seven. Chromatic tones are temporary members of a key, under such names as " sharp four," "flat seven," etc. Scales and tunes of every variety are made from the tones of a key.
  • (n.) The fundamental tone of a movement to which its modulations are referred, and with which it generally begins and ends; keynote.
  • (n.) Fig: The general pitch or tone of a sentence or utterance.
  • (v. t.) To fasten or secure firmly; to fasten or tighten with keys or wedges.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Community involvement is a key element of the Primary Health Care (PHC) approach, and thus an essential topic on a course for managers of Primary Health Care programmes.
  • (2) A key way of regaining public trust will be reforming the system of remuneration as agreed by the G20.
  • (3) Instead, the White House opted for a low-key approach, publishing a blogpost profiling Trinace Edwards, a brain-tumour victim who recently discovered she was eligible for Medicaid coverage.
  • (4) The presence of a few key residues in the amino-terminal alpha-helix of each ligand is sufficient to confer specificity to the interaction.
  • (5) The key warning from the Fed chair A summary of Bernanke's hearing Earlier... MPs in London quizzed the Bank of England on Libor.
  • (6) "Seller reports are key to identifying bad buyers and ridding them from our marketplace," says eBay.
  • (7) It is suggested that the low-density lipoprotein receptors in human fetal liver may play a key role in the regulation of the serum cholesterol levels during gestation.
  • (8) A key component of a career program should be recognition of a nurse's needs and the program should be evaluated to determine if these needs are met.
  • (9) As novel antibody therapeutics are developed for different malignancies and require evaluation with cells previously uncharacterized as antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) targets, efficient description of key parameters of the assay system expedites the preclinical assessment.
  • (10) Meanwhile, Hunt has been accused of backtracking on a key recommendation in the official report into Mid Staffs.
  • (11) The safe motherhood initiative demands an intersectoral, collaborative approach to gynecology, family planning, and child health in which midwifery is the key element.
  • (12) Acetylcholinesterase is a key enzyme in cholinergic neurotransmission for hydrolyzing acetylcholine and has been shown to possess arylacylamidase activity in addition to esterase activity.
  • (13) If Lagarde had been placed under formal investigation in the Tapie case, it would have risked weakening her position and further embarrassing both the IMF and France by heaping more judicial worries on a key figure on the international stage.
  • (14) Four goals, four assists, and constant movement have been a key part of the team’s success.
  • (15) Mechanosensitive ion channels may play a key role in transducing vascular smooth muscle (VSM) stretch into active force development.
  • (16) But Abaaoud, the man thought to be a key planner for the group behind the Paris attacks, boasted to a niece that he had brought around 90 militants back to Europe with him.
  • (17) Key therapeutic questions are whether beta-lactams can safely replace aminoglycosides for the treatment of gram-negative pneumonia, and whether monotherapy or aminoglycoside and beta-lactam combination antibiotic treatment is superior.
  • (18) Teaching procedures then establish and build these key components to fluency.
  • (19) Doubts about Hinkley Point have deepened after a detailed report by HSBC’s energy analysts described eight key challenges to the project, which will be built by the state-backed French firm EDF and be part-financed by investment from China .
  • (20) The Lords will vote on three key amendments: • To exclude child benefit from the cap calculation (this would roughly halve the number of households affected).

Signature


Definition:

  • (v. t.) A sign, stamp, or mark impressed, as by a seal.
  • (v. t.) Especially, the name of any person, written with his own hand, employed to signify that the writing which precedes accords with his wishes or intentions; a sign manual; an autograph.
  • (v. t.) An outward mark by which internal characteristics were supposed to be indicated.
  • (v. t.) A resemblance between the external characters of a disease and those of some physical agent, for instance, that existing between the red skin of scarlet fever and a red cloth; -- supposed to indicate this agent in the treatment of the disease.
  • (v. t.) The designation of the key (when not C major, or its relative, A minor) by means of one or more sharps or flats at the beginning of the staff, immediately after the clef, affecting all notes of the same letter throughout the piece or movement. Each minor key has the same signature as its relative major.
  • (v. t.) A letter or figure placed at the bottom of the first page of each sheet of a book or pamphlet, as a direction to the binder in arranging and folding the sheets.
  • (v. t.) The printed sheet so marked, or the form from which it is printed; as, to reprint one or more signatures.
  • (v. t.) That part of a prescription which contains the directions to the patient. It is usually prefaced by S or Sig. (an abbreviation for the Latin signa, imperative of signare to sign or mark).
  • (v. t.) To mark with, or as with, a signature or signatures.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Voters would have to collect the signatures of 10% of constituents to force a byelection.
  • (2) The end result of the post is a digital signature, signed by Nakamoto’s private key.
  • (3) Based on documents leaked by whistleblower Edward Snowden, the New York Times and ProPublica reported on Thursday that the Justice Department in 2012 permitted the NSA to use widespread surveillance authorities passed by Congress to stop terrorism and foreign espionage in order to find digital signatures associated with high-level cyber intrusions.
  • (4) A heavy smoker – “I once quit for four months … but why should I torture myself at my age?” – and outspoken supporter of gay marriage, the divorced and recently remarried father of two collected more than 4,000 signatures from Austrian public figures and celebrities during his presidential campaign.
  • (5) The applicant I had countersigned for had visited a GP surgery where she began talking to another patient who was there for a GP's signature on an application, for a fee of £20.
  • (6) Signing up Round-robin emails encouraging web users to sign e-petitions have attracted hundreds of thousands of signatures.
  • (7) This contract signature is not only great news for our armed forces, but demonstrates how the strong relationship between UK defence and our allies helps to ensure best value for the taxpayer.
  • (8) "It is rare to have such a prominent signature in a work of this date and it is one of only two of his series of paintings depicting windmills of Montmartre still in private hands."
  • (9) With 66,000 signatures on a petition after four days, immigration minister Peter Dutton cancelled Allen’s visa.
  • (10) But two key Liberal positions, on the Keystone XL and on emissions reductions targets, put Trudeau out of step with Obama, who has made climate change the signature issue of his second term in the White House.
  • (11) Le champ solaire d’une valeur de 23,7 millions de dollars était opérationnel à peine un an après la signature du contrat, n’en déplaise aux sceptiques qui remettaient en cause la capacité des Africains à mener à bien un projet rapidement.
  • (12) By the time she did so, it had attracted 213,000 signatures.
  • (13) The tech behemoth reported strong sales of its signature phone in its third-quarter financial report – fully 47.5m iPhones, up more than a third year-over-year, for a net revenue of $31.4bn.
  • (14) It was brought before parliament by a citizens’ initiative – a petition that has received at least 100,000 signatures – submitted by the hardline conservative advocacy group Ordo Iuris and the Stop Abortion coalition.
  • (15) The researchers identified three signatures of brain activity that corresponded to the different children's responses to the point-light displays.
  • (16) With a letter of no confidence already in circulation but only a small number of signatures so far, several MPs said on Monday that May was safe until summer – with colleagues desperate to get to the parliamentary recess and have a break.
  • (17) • The guitar, along with flamenco's signature cry of olé, are believed to be derived from early versions of the instruments brought by the Muslims to Spain.
  • (18) He was stunned and told me they were his signature.
  • (19) A government-ordered inquiry has questioned the benefits of Tony Abbott’s signature paid parental leave scheme and called for some of the funding to be diverted to early childhood education and care, saying it would have a greater impact on workforce participation.
  • (20) At such a juncture a writer can inject their own imagination to isolate them from the real world or maybe they can exaggerate the situation – making sure it is bold, vivid and has the signature of our real world.