Rekey

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Alter the internal tumblers of a lock so that a different key will operate it ; to retype information into a computer or device that was already entered
2. Modify a lock's mechanism so that it responds to a new key ; to input data a second time through a keyboard
3. Change the pins in a lock cylinder so that a fresh key works it ; to re-enter previously typed information into a system

Etymology: "Rekey" is a compound: the prefix "re-", meaning again or anew, attached to "key." The key itself is ancient. Its Old English ancestor, "cǣġ," traces back to a Proto-West Germanic form and was a plain word for the small metal instrument that opens a lock. Over the centuries it passed through Middle English as "keye" into the modern spelling. The "re-" prefix has a longer and more tangled route. It descends from a Proto-Italic root and came into Latin as "re-", which French carried forward as "re-" in Old French. English borrowed it that way in Middle English, where it could be attached to almost any verb to mean doing something once more or undoing an action. Put the two together and "rekey" means to change the locks of a building so that the old keys stop working and new ones are needed. The verb is a straightforward modern formation: nothing about it is hidden, and its meaning follows directly from its parts.

Synonyms: relock