Keypad

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkiːpæd/

Definitions

1. A device featuring an arrangement of keys that facilitates data entry for various electronic devices
2. An interface characterized by a matrix of buttons used to input commands or information into machines
3. A panel comprised of buttons designed for entering data and executing commands in electronic devices

Etymology: The keypad is a plain compound: "key" plus "pad", where "pad" in this sense is a flat, cushion-like or flat-surfaced block, the same idea behind a writing pad or a launch pad. The "key" half refers to the individual levers or buttons that a person presses, and the combined word names the flat panel that holds a set of them together. The sense of "pad" that matters here is the older one of a soft or flat mass that something rests on or is pressed against, which is why the same element turns up in words for a stamp pad, a mousepad and a launch pad. Placing a flat surface of keys under one name gave the whole panel a single identity, so the word describes the arrangement of buttons rather than any one of them.

Synonyms: keyboard, control panel, numerical pad