Skeleton key

A key with most of its blade removed, leaving only the parts needed to operate a warded lock. It can open multiple locks that share a matching mechanism.

Warded lock: A lock that uses fixed internal obstructions to prevent keys with incompatible shapes from turning. The skeleton key works by clearing the fixed obstructions inside this lock.
Ancient Egyptian lock: An early wooden pin-tumbler lock system documented in ancient Egypt and the Near East. Its large wooden keys helped establish the tradition of mechanically operated locks.
Master key system: A lock arrangement in which individual keys and a master key can operate selected groups of locks. Both provide broader access, but a master key system uses designed pinning rather than removed wards.
Change key: A key that operates one specific lock or one lock within a master-keyed system. Unlike a skeleton key, it is cut for a particular lock rather than bypassing shared wards.
Warding: The arrangement of fixed projections inside a lock that blocks keys with incompatible profiles. Removing blade material lets the key pass the obstructions created by warding.
Warded lock history: The historical development of locks that use fixed internal wards to reject mismatched keys. Skeleton keys arose from the warded mechanisms common in older locks.
Antique lock: A historic lock retained for its age, craftsmanship, or use in period furniture and buildings. Many antique warded locks were designed to operate with skeleton keys.
Tubular lock: A lock opened by a cylindrical key whose pins align around a circular plug. Its pin arrangement cannot be bypassed by removing wards from a traditional key blade.
Key (lock): A shaped instrument that operates a lock by moving or aligning its internal components. A skeleton key is a specialized key whose reduced blade still moves the lock's mechanism.
Chubb detector lock: A nineteenth-century lock design that signaled attempted picking by trapping the bolt after unauthorized manipulation. Its anti-picking design shows how later locks countered techniques that simple skeleton keys could exploit.

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