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passe-partout

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passe-par⋅tout

  [pas-pahr-too; Fr. pahs-par-too]
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–noun, plural -touts  [-tooz; Fr. -too] .
1. something that passes everywhere or provides a universal means of passage.
2. a master key; skeleton key.
3. an ornamental mat for a picture.
4. a method of framing in which a piece of glass is placed over a picture and is affixed to a backing by means of adhesive strips of paper or other material pasted over the edges.
5. paper prepared for this purpose.
Origin:
1635–45; < F: lit., (it) passes everywhere
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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passe-par·tout   (pās-pär-tōō')   
n.  

  1. Something, such as a master key, that permits one to pass or go at will.

    1. A border, such as a mat, that is used to frame or mount a picture.

    2. An adhesive tape or a gummed paper used for a similar purpose.


[French : passer, to pass + partout, everywhere.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

passe-partout 
"master-key," 1675, from Fr., lit. "pass everywhere," from passer "to pass" (see pass (v.)) + partout "everywhere," from par "through" + tout "all."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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