House keys vs. public keys.
Which meaning of Key is the original, and which one is the duplicate riding on its name? Key (lock) came first (ancient / pre-modern). Key (cryptography) arrived in the 1970s. The data below shows which one owns the word now.
Wikipedia pageviews since 2015
Key (lock)Key (cryptography)
English Wikipedia pageviews since July 2015 load here.
Duplicate's share of attention
Green line = duplicate's % · above 60 it owns the word · below 40 the original does
The case for each meaning
Sourced definitions, usage stats and quotes
Original · ancient / pre-modern
Key (lock)
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12-mo pageviews—
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Duplicate · the 1970s
Key (cryptography)
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More duplicated terms
Cybersecurity
Virus · Computer virusWorm · Computer wormTrojan · Trojan horse (malware)Hash · Hash functionSalt · Salt (cryptography)Phish · PhishingZombie · Zombie (computing)Harvest · Email harvestingInject · Code injectionPayload · Payload (computing)Realm · Realm (security)Certificate · Public key certificateSpoof · Spoofing attackSniff · Packet sniffingExploit · Exploit (security)Shield · DDoS protectionBounty · Bug bountyRansom · Ransomware