Etymograph

English

stream key

Stream key comes from English key ‘code, sequence of characters’.

  1. English1500–presentkey1‘code, sequence of characters’
  2. Englishtodaystream key1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English stream key

Lineage

  1. English1500–presentkeyWiktionary, English stream key‘code, sequence of characters’
  2. Englishtodaystream keyWiktionary, English stream key

A compound of stream + key ‘code, sequence of characters’

Proto-Indo-European *srew- ‘to flow’

…

Proto-Germanic *straumaz

Proto-West Germanic *straum

Old English strēam

Middle English streem

English stream

Proto-West Germanic *kaiju

Old English cǣġ ‘key’

Middle English keye ‘a key’

English key

Every English word from English key

Today it means

noun A code used to identify a source of audio/video streaming, in order to show the stream in a website or software over the Web.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “stream key”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / English key / stream key

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