[kee-noht] 
noun, verb, -not⋅ed, -not⋅ing.| 1. | Music. the note or tone on which a key or system of tones is founded; the tonic. |
| 2. | the main idea or central principle of a speech, program, thought, action, etc. |
| 3. | the policy line to be followed, as by a party in a political campaign, that is set forth authoritatively in advance by an address or other formal announcement. |
| 4. | keynote address. |
| 5. | to announce the policy of (a political party, campaign, assembly, etc.); deliver a keynote address at: The governor will keynote the convention. |
| 6. | to serve as the keynote for. |
| 7. | Music. to give the keynote of. |
| 8. | to provide a keynote, esp. a keynote address: He refused an invitation to keynote. |
| a speech, as at a political convention, that presents important issues, principles, policies, etc. |
| key·note (kē'nōt') n.
|
keynote
in music, the first note (degree) of any diatonic (e.g., major or minor) scale. It is the most important degree of the scale, serving as the focus for both melody and harmony. The term tonic may also refer to the tonic triad, the chord built in thirds from the tonic note (as C-E-G in C major). See also tonality.
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