turnkey

See also: turn-key

English

Etymology

From turn +‎ key.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɜː(ɹ)nˌkiː/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

  • (US) enPR: tûrn'-kē

Adjective

turnkey (comparative more turnkey, superlative most turnkey)

1. Ready to use without further assembly or test; supplied in a state that is ready to turn on and operate (typically refers to an assembly that is outsourced for manufacture)

   They wanted a turnkey solution for the entire system, but we could only provide the enclosure.

   • 1980, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, April 1980, Kathleen Bailey, When and why weapons; page 42

     Third World countries no longer want to purchase nuclear projects on a turn-key basis; they want to receive advanced technical training as well.

   • 2023 March 22, Ben West, “This 835-Year-Old English Manor Needs Some Modern Love”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     He cautioned that the house “is not turnkey,” and that because it is “so unusual,” it may take a while to sell. But, he added, “It’s a joy to be selling a property with its history.”

Translations

ready to use without further assembly

• Bulgarian: готов до ключ (gotov do ključ)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 交鑰匙／交钥匙 (jiāoyàoshi)

• Czech: na klíč (cs)
• Danish: nøglefærdig
• Dutch: kant-en-klaar (nl)
• Finnish: avaimet käteen
• French: clé en main (fr), clés en main (fr)
• German: schlüsselfertig (de)
• Hungarian: kulcsrakész (hu)
• Italian: chiavi in mano (it)
• Norwegian: bruksklar
• Polish: pod klucz
• Russian: под ключ (ru) (pod ključ)
• Spanish: llave en mano
• Swedish: nyckelfärdig, nyckelklar
• Turkish: anahtar teslim

Noun

turnkey (plural turnkeys)

1. (archaic) A warder or jailer/gaoler; keeper of the keys in a prison.
   • 1834 [1799], Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Southey, “The Devil's Thoughts”, in The Poetical Works of S. T. Coleridge, volume II, London: W. Pickering, page 86:

     He saw the same Turnkey unfetter a man / With but little expedition, / Which put him in mind of the long debate / On the Slave-trade abolition.

   • 1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, “(please specify the chapter name)”, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1837, →OCLC:

     […] they passed through an open door into a lobby, from which a heavy gate, opposite to that by which they had entered, and which was guarded by a stout turnkey with the key in his hand, led at once into the interior of the prison.

   • 1883, Thomas Hardy, The Three Strangers‎^[2]:

     'Certainly not,' said the turnkey; and the first corroborated his statement.

2. A system that is supplied ready to switch on and operate.
   • 1982, Myron E. Weiner, Human Services Management: Analysis and Applications, page 298:

     The hardware-software costs are packaged together. Turnkeys are either special purpose (e.g., only for one function such as libraries) or general purpose […]

Translations

slang: warder

• Bulgarian: ключар m (ključar), тъмничар m (tǎmničar)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 狱吏 (zh) (yùlì), 看守 (zh) (kānshǒu), 守卫 (zh) (shǒuwèi)

• Dutch: cipier (nl) m,DE
• Finnish: pamppu (fi)
• French: guichetier (fr) m
• German: Gefangenenwärter m, Gefangenenwärterin f, Gefängniswärter (de) m, Gefängniswärterin (de) f
• Greek: δεσμοφύλακας (el) m (desmofýlakas)
• Italian: girachiavi m (prison slang)
• Polish: klawisz (pl) m
• Russian: тюре́мщик (ru) m (tjurémščik), надзира́тель (ru) m (nadzirátelʹ), вертуха́й (ru) m (vertuxáj) (slang)
• Spanish: llavero (es) m
• Turkish: gardiyan (tr), zindancı (tr)

Verb

turnkey (third-person singular simple present turnkeys, present participle turnkeying, simple past and past participle turnkeyed)

1. To supply a turnkey product; to supply something fully assembled and ready to use.

   We can sell you all the parts, or we can turnkey the entire unit.