House of Keys

Meaning

Proper Noun

• The lower house of Tynwald, the Isle of Man parliament.

Origin

• Disputed. Possibly from keys (a Latin document from 1417 refers to Claves Mann and Claves Legis: the Keys of Mann and the Keys of Law); possibly from Norse verb kjósa, "to choose"; possibly from the Manx term kiare as feed, "twenty-four", because the House has always had 24 members.