keyrelic
/ˈkiːˌrɛlɪk/nounVerified NewA key retained long after the lock it opened has been lost, replaced, or forgotten.
It hangs on the hook or rides the keyring through three house moves, untouchable because nobody can prove it is useless. Keyrelics are domestic fossils: their value is the possibility they encode. Estate clearances find them by the handful.
Etym. — key + relic — an object kept for what it once unlocked, worshipped in the key bowl.
Novelty check: NEW · checked 2026-11-08
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