noun, feminine/kle/plural: clés
key (device for unlocking); key (essential attribute); wrench, spanner; USB stick; key
“Et s'il me prend l'envie d' m'en aller, enferme-moi et jette la clé.” — And if I feel like leaving, lock me up and throw away the key.
Inherited from Middle French clef, from Old French clef, from Latin clāvis, from Proto-Italic *klāwis, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kleh₂w-. According to Bescherelle, the spelling clé had replaced clef by 1845.