The term in the beverage-opening sense is apparently not an old one; Merriam-Webster finds written attestation only since the 1950s.[1] Several etymological themes exist. The main one is that the ends of some bottle openers resemble the heads of large keys such as have traditionally been used to lock and unlock church doors.[2]
History
A churchkey with a can piercer
A church key initially referred to a simple hand-operated device for prying the cap (called a "crown cork") off a glass bottle; this kind of closure was invented in 1892, although there is no evidence that the opener was called a church key at that time.[3] The shape and design of some of these openers did resemble a large simple key.[4]
In 1935, beer cans with flat tops were marketed, and a device to puncture the lids was needed. The same term, church key, came to be used for this new invention: made from a single piece of pressed metal, with a pointed end used for piercing cans—devised by D. F. Sampson[5][6] for the American Can Company, which depicted operating instructions on the cans,[7] and typically gave away free "quick and easy" openers with their beer cans.[8]
church, this, article, about, opener, other, uses, disambiguation, church, churchkey, north, american, term, various, kinds, bottle, openers, openers, church, bottle, opener, contents, etymology, history, gallery, also, references, external, linksetymology, ed. This article is about the opener For other uses see Church key disambiguation A church key or churchkey is a North American term for various kinds of bottle openers and can openers A church key bottle opener Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 3 Gallery 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksEtymology Edit A church key in the literal sense A church key in the figurative sense The term in the beverage opening sense is apparently not an old one Merriam Webster finds written attestation only since the 1950s 1 Several etymological themes exist The main one is that the ends of some bottle openers resemble the heads of large keys such as have traditionally been used to lock and unlock church doors 2 History Edit A churchkey with a can piercer A church key initially referred to a simple hand operated device for prying the cap called a crown cork off a glass bottle this kind of closure was invented in 1892 although there is no evidence that the opener was called a church key at that time 3 The shape and design of some of these openers did resemble a large simple key 4 In 1935 beer cans with flat tops were marketed and a device to puncture the lids was needed The same term church key came to be used for this new invention made from a single piece of pressed metal with a pointed end used for piercing cans devised by D F Sampson 5 6 for the American Can Company which depicted operating instructions on the cans 7 and typically gave away free quick and easy openers with their beer cans 8 Gallery Edit Opening a beer can with a church key 1963See also EditChurchkey Can CompanyReferences Edit church key Merriam Webster s Collegiate Dictionary Merriam Webster church key The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language 5th ed Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Churchkey Worldwide Words Church key JFO Newsletter January 1980 Newsletter United States Bartenders Guild archived from the original on May 11 2006 Short History of the Beer Can part 2 Streeter s Electronics archived from the original on 2011 07 20 Flat Top Beer Cans archived from the original on July 4 2008 Opening Instruction CansExternal links Edit Look up church key in Wiktionary the free dictionary World Wide Words Illustrative historic photos This bartending related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Church key amp oldid 1142327834, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
