chave

Meaning

Noun

1. (feminine) key (object that opens and closes a lock)
2. (feminine) key (object that is inserted into a device and rotated to activate it)
3. (feminine) any of several tools designed to turn screws, bolts, nuts, etc., especially a spanner
4. (feminine) curly bracket (name of the characters { and })
5. (feminine,figuratively) key (crucial step, element or requirement)
6. (feminine,figuratively) keys (free access to something)
7. (feminine) key; password
8. (feminine) key (a string used to encode or decode text)
9. (feminine) key (value that identifies a row in a table)
10. (feminine) a key of a wind instrument
11. (feminine) tuning lever; tuning wrench; hammer (tool used to tune certain stringed instruments)
12. (feminine) winder (key or knob used to wind a clockwork mechanism)
13. (feminine) the switch of a circuit breaker
14. (feminine) the clue to an answer
15. (feminine) group; pool (in a tournament, a set of players or team who play against one another)
16. (feminine) joint lock
17. (feminine) the mechanism that activates a switch
18. (feminine) the keystone of a vault
19. (feminine,obsolete) Synonym of clave
20. (feminine) clavis; key (groups of information used for identifying a taxon)

Adj

key; crucial; indispensable

Hyphenated as

cha‧ve

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈʃa.vi/

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese chave (“key”), from Latin clāvis (“key”), from Proto-Italic *klāwis (“bolt, lock, bar”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂u- (“nail, pin, hook - instruments, of old use for locking doors”) (possibly through an Ancient Greek intermediate).
Cognate with Galician chave, Spanish llave, Catalan and Occitan clau, French clé, Italian chiave and Romanian cheie. Doublet of clave, a borrowing.

Sentences

A questão chave não é colocar a tecnologia sem saber por quê .

The key issue is not to put the technology without knowing why.

Fala , você já deve ter percebido , na chave de uma parábola .

Speak, you may have already noticed, in the key of a parable.