2014-04-26 10:52:28 -04:00
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feature key
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2014-04-26 11:54:15 -04:00
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n. [common] The Macintosh key with the cloverleaf graphic on its keytop;
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sometimes referred to as flower , pretzel , clover , propeller , beanie (an
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apparent reference to the major feature of a propeller beanie), splat ,
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open-apple or (officially, in Mac documentation) the command key. In French,
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the term papillon (butterfly) has been reported. The proliferation of terms
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for this creature may illustrate one subtle peril of iconic interfaces. Many
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people have been mystified by the cloverleaf-like symbol that appears on the
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feature key. Its oldest name is cross of St. Hannes , but it occurs in
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pre-Christian Viking art as a decorative motif. Throughout Scandinavia today
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the road agencies use it to mark sites of historical interest. Apple picked
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up the symbol from an early Mac developer who happened to be Swedish. Apple
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documentation gives the translation interesting feature ! There is some
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dispute as to the proper (Swedish) name of this symbol. It technically
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stands for the word sevrdhet (thing worth seeing); many of these are old
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churches. Some Swedes report as an idiom for the sign the word kyrka ,
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cognate to English church and pronounced (roughly) /churka/ in modern
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Swedish. Others say this is nonsense. Other idioms reported for the sign are
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runa (rune) or runsten /roonstn/ (runestone), derived from the fact that
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many of the interesting features are Viking rune-stones. The term fornminne
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/foornmin'@/ (relic of antiquity, ancient monument) is also reported,
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especially among those who think that the Mac itself is a relic of
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antiquity.
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