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lych-gate or lych gate also lich gate

(lĭchgāt′)

A roofed gateway to a churchyard used originally as a resting place for a bier before burial.

[Middle English lycheyate : lyche, corpse, body (from Old English līc; see līk- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots) + gate, yate, gate; see GATE¹.]

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lych-gate

Church of St. James the Great

Cradley, England

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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