throw

throw n. the distance that a key or button can be pressed, as on a computer keyboard. Etymological Note: Directly related to “throw” in mechanical engineering, defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “the action or motion of a slide-valve, or of a crank, eccentric, or cam; also, the extent of this measured on a straight line passing through the centre of motion; the extent through which a switch or lever may be moved.” (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)