מִקְלֶדֶת (miklédet) — keyboard
Etymology
The word מִקְלֶדֶת begins with a Greek word for key. The Latin clavis (key) was borrowed into Greek as klavis, which was borrowed into Aramaic as aqlida (מַפְתֵּחַ, key) — attested in the Talmud (Gittin 56a). From Aramaic, aqlida was borrowed into Persian as kelid (کلید), where it remains the common word for "key" today. Meanwhile, in European languages, the Latin clavis lent its meaning to keyboard instruments: by at least the 14th century, the keys of an organ were called claves in Latin, presumably because their shape or function recalled a key. This musical sense spread: English key, Yiddish klaṿiš (from the German Klaviatur), and the whole family of keyboard instruments named clavier, Klavier, clavichord, and harpsichord all derive from this root. So the Hebrew קְלִיד, the Arabic miftāḥ meaning both "key" and "(musical) key," the English key, the Yiddish klaṿiš, and the Persian kelid are all, at several removes, the same word.
The search for a Hebrew word for piano keys went on for nearly a century. In 1866, Zvi HaKohen Rabinovich translated the German Tasten (keys, from "touch") as גּוּפִים מְשַׁמְשִׁים (functional bodies). In 1904, the term גְּשִׁישִׁים appeared (from "groping/touching"). In 1906, Ben-Yehuda coined מַכּוֹשִׁים (small hammers), naming the piano מַכּוֹשִׁית; the word didn't catch on, partly because מַכּוֹשׁ was already used for a farm tool. But the sound of מַכּוֹשׁ influenced the Hebrew Language Committee, which chose the similar-sounding מַקֵּשׁ — still used today for individual keys, and for the older term לוּחַ מַקֵּשִׁים (keypad). By the early 20th century, the word מְנַעַנְעִים — from the mysterious instrument named in 2 Samuel 6:5 — became the most common word for piano keys, in use for about fifty years.
In 1952, the Music Terminology Committee of the Hebrew Language Committee revived the Aramaic/Greek word: אַקְלִידָא → קְלִיד (key). This replaced מַקֵּשׁ (which became "keypad key") in the musical context. The committee also coined מִקְלֶדֶת for the full array of keys — the keyboard of a piano or organ. The linguist Yitzhak Avineri protested bitterly, defending the old מְנַעַנְעִים and calling the new קְלִיד a Greek word intruding on biblical Hebrew. But קְלִיד was swiftly adopted, aided by the musicologist and Davar critic Menashe Rubina and by the word's sonic resemblance to Yiddish klaṿiš and English key.
By 1963, מִקְלֶדֶת had been extended to describe the keys of a computer keyboard (attested in LaMerhav in a story about an IBM Chinese-English translation machine). With the spread of computers in the 1970s, מִקְלֶדֶת became the standard term for the computer keyboard, displacing the earlier לוּחַ מַקֵּשִׁים. From מִקְלֶדֶת came the verbs הִקְלִיד (to type) and הֻקְלַד (was typed), and the noun הַקְלָדָה (typing/keyboarding) — all now in everyday use.
Key Quotes
"ע״י מקלדת שלישית נבחרת האות מן המסך והיא מוכנסת למכונה לשם תרגום" — למרחב, 1963
"היתה כאן תחיית ישן, זו הגדולה והעקרית במעלות פתוח הלשון... עד שבאו ׳חכמי לשון׳ ועשו הפוכו של דבר" — יצחק אבינרי על החלפת מנענעים, על המשמר, 1958
Timeline
- Ancient: Greek klavis (key) → Aramaic aqlida → Persian kelid
- 14th century CE: Latin clavis applied to organ keys; English key, Yiddish klaṿiš follow
- 1866: Rabinovich proposes גּוּפִים מְשַׁמְשִׁים for piano keys
- 1872: מְנַעַנְעִים first attested for piano keys (in HaMelitz)
- 1906: Ben-Yehuda coins מַכּוֹשִׁים; Language Committee responds with מַקֵּשׁ
- Early 20th century: מְנַעַנְעִים becomes common in musical circles
- 1947: Language Committee uses מַקֵּשׁ for typewriter keys in office terminology
- 1952: Music Terminology Committee coins קְלִיד and מִקְלֶדֶת
- 1958: Avineri protests in Al HaMishmar; קְלִיד adopted regardless
- 1963: מִקְלֶדֶת first used for computer keyboard (LaMerhav)
- 1970s: מִקְלֶדֶת becomes standard for computer keyboard; לוּחַ מַקֵּשִׁים relegated to keypad
- Present: הִקְלִיד, הֻקְלַד, הַקְלָדָה in everyday use
Related Words
- קְלִיד — key (piano/keyboard key; the base noun)
- מַקֵּשׁ — key (keypad/button; older term now used for individual keys)
- לוּחַ מַקֵּשִׁים — keypad (older term for keyboard; now means smaller key panel)
- מְנַעַנְעִים — piano keys (biblical hapax from 2 Samuel 6:5; used ~1872–1952)
- הִקְלִיד — to type (derived verb)
- הַקְלָדָה — typing, keyboarding (derived noun)