keyless en · ADJ
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-West Germanic *kaiju Old English cǣġ Middle English keye English key Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁- Proto-Indo-European *lewHs-der. Proto-Germanic *leusaną Proto-Germanic *lausaz Proto-Germanic *-lausaz Proto-West Germanic *-laus Old English -lēas Middle English -les English -less English keyless From key + -less.
Meanings
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(not-comparable) Lacking or not requiring a key.
Today’s keyless models use a fob — the small remote control device that most modern cars use to lock and unlock doors — but it performs the additional duty of sending a signal to the ignition.
2007 April 14, Micheline Maynard, “Car Keys Could Go the Way of Tail Fins”, in New York Times: