latchkey
/ˈlæt͡ʃˌki/
Etymology
From latch + key.
latchkey means equipped with a key; generally in the phrase latchkey kid. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 88 out of 100.
latchkey is pronounced /ˈlæt͡ʃˌki/.
Why “latchkey” is a great word
LATCHKEY — [Adjective, Noun, Verb] As an adjective, it describes a child left to their own devices after school due to parental absence; as a noun, the key they carry; as a verb, the action of letting themselves in. From latch (a fastening for a door) + key (an instrument for operating a lock). The term 'latchkey child' is first recorded in 1940–45, emerging during World War II when many mothers entered the workforce. Unlike 'unsupervised'—a general state of lacking oversight—or 'housekey'—a neutral, functional object—'latchkey' specifically denotes the condition of self-reliant solitude born of economic necessity. It is the cold brass weight in a coat pocket, the definitive *snick* of the lock in a silent foyer, and the echoing quiet of a house at 3:15 p.m.—a small, metallic passport to an adulthood assumed too soon.
adj
- Equipped with a key; generally in the phrase latchkey kid.
- Pertaining to unsupervised children in afterschool care contexts.“In fashionable Potomac, for instance, almost 50 percent of the nonparental care was latchkey.”
noun
- A key, especially to an outside door.
verb
- To open something by means of a latchkey.