silent key
n.— «Was a licensed amateur (ham) radio with the call sign KA6HVA. When he passed away, he became, in ham radio parlance, a “silent key.”» —“Biography for Burl Ives” The Internet Movie Database Aug. 13, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Have you ever googled your own name and found someone else who goes by the very same moniker? There’s a word for that: googleganger. Plus, the language of hobbyists and enthusiasts: If you’re a beekeeper, perhaps you call yourself a...
While compiling the Oxford English Dictionary, lexicographer James Murray exchanged hundreds of letters a week with authors, advisors, and volunteer researchers. A new collection online lets you eavesdrop on discussions about which words should be...
The journal of the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) used to have an obituary column headed “Silent Keys”. It probably still does, but I have not been a member since the late sixties.