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gate¹

(gāt)

1. A structure that can be swung, drawn, or lowered to block an entrance or a passageway.

a. An opening in a wall or fence for entrance or exit.

b. The structure surrounding such an opening, such as the monumental or fortified entrance to a palace or walled city.

a. A doorway or walkway in a terminal, as at an airport, through which passengers proceed when embarking or disembarking.

b. A waiting area inside a terminal, abutting such a doorway or walkway.

4. A means of access: the gate to riches.

5. A mountain pass.

6. The total paid attendance or admission receipts at a public event: a good gate at the football game.

7. A device for controlling the passage of water or gas through a dam or conduit.

8. The channel through which molten metal flows into a shaped cavity of a mold.

9. Sports A passage between two upright poles through which a skier must go in a slalom race.

10. A logic gate.

tr.v. gat·ed, gat·ing, gates

1. Chiefly British To confine (a student) to the grounds of a college as punishment.

2. Electronics To select part of (a wave) for transmission, reception, or processing by magnitude or time interval.

3. To furnish with a gate: "The entrance to the rear lawn was also gated" (Dean Koontz).

Idioms:

get the gate Slang

To be dismissed or rejected.

give (someone) the gate Slang

1. To discharge from a job.

2. To reject or jilt.

[Middle English, from Old English geat.]

gate²

(gāt)

n.
Archaic

1. A path or way.

2. A particular way of acting or doing; manner.

[Middle English, from Old Norse gata; see ghē- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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