n.

1. The tonic of a musical key.
2. A prime underlying element or theme: “The keynote of the revolution settlement was personal freedom under the law” (G.M. Trevelyan).

tr.v., -not·ed, -not·ing, -notes.

1. To give or set the keynote of.
2. Informal. To give a keynote address at: keynoted the press luncheon.

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has 3 meanings:

Meaning #1: the principal theme in a speech or literary work

Meaning #2: a fundamental or central idea

Meaning #3: (music) the first note of a diatonic scale
  Synonym: tonic

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The verb keynote has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: set the keynote of

Meaning #2: give the keynote address to (an audience)

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - hovedtanken, hoved-, grundprincip, bærende princip, grundtone
v. tr. - give grundtonen, give et A

Nederlands (Dutch)
hoofdgedachte, grondtoon, bedoeld om de toon aan te geven, uiteenzetten (beleid etc.), toonaangevende toespraak houden, grondtoon bepalen

Français (French)
n. - (Mus) tonique, (fig) note dominante
v. tr. - (Mus) donner la note, (Pol) annoncer la politique (d'un parti)

Deutsch (German)
n. - Grundton, Hauptgedanke
v. - eine programmatische Rede halten, den Grundton festlegen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (μτφ.) βασικός τόνος, ουσιώδες περιεχόμενο (λόγου κ.λπ.), κύριο θέμα, κεντρικό μοτίβο, (μουσ.) τονική
v. - καθιερώνω το κύριο θέμα/το κεντρικό μοτίβο

Italiano (Italian)
nota fondamentale

Português (Portuguese)
n. - tônica (f) (Mús.), idéia (f) fundamental (fig.)
v. - dar o tom (Mús.), dar o tom da conversa (fig.)

Русский (Russian)
основной тон, лейтмотив, задавать то, давать директивы

Español (Spanish)
n. - idea fundamental, piedra angular, nota tónica
v. tr. - anunciar o difundir una idea fundamental o un programa de gobierno, dar el rasgo característico

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - grundton, grundtanke, grundprincip
v. - hålla inledningsanförande

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
主调音, 基调, 基音, 说明基本政策, 定基调

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 主調音, 基調, 基音
v. tr. - 說明基本政策, 定基調

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 주음 , 요지, 기본 방침
v. tr. - 발표하다, 주음을 나타내다, (생각을) 강조하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 主音, 要旨, 基調
v. - 主音を決める, 強調する

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) ممفتاح النوته الموسيقيه, ملاحظه أو نقطه أساسيه (فعل) يلقي خطابا رئيسي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮צליל ראשי, רעיון מרכזי, צליל יסוד למפתח (מוסיקה)‬
v. tr. - ‮הודיע על המדיניות (של מפלגה וכו'), נשא נאום מרכזי, שימש כרעיון מרכזי, השמיע את הצליל היסודי (מוסיקה)‬

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