Gate

This article is about the point of entry or exit. For other uses, see Gate (disambiguation) and Gateway (disambiguation).

A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word is derived from Proto-Germanic *gatan, meaning an opening or passageway.^[1] Synonyms include yett (which comes from the same root word) and portal. The concept originally referred to the gap or hole in the wall or fence, rather than a barrier which closed it. Gates may prevent or control the entry or exit of individuals, or they may be merely decorative. The moving part or parts of a gateway may be considered "doors", as they are fixed at one side whilst opening and closing like one.^[2]

Gate from Bucharest (Romania)

Art Nouveau gate of Castel Béranger (Paris)

Candi bentar, a typical Indonesian gate that is often found on the islands of Java and Bali

A gate may have a latch that can be raised and lowered to both open a gate or prevent it from swinging.^[3] Gate operation can be either automated or manual. Locks are also used on gates to increase security.

Larger gates can be used for a whole building, such as a castle or fortified town. Doors can also be considered gates when they are used to block entry as prevalent within a gatehouse.

Purpose-specific types of gate

Japanese Torii at Itsukushima Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Japan, where the Hindu goddess Saraswati is worshipped as the Buddhist-Shinto goddess Benzaiten

• Baby gate: a safety gate to protect babies and toddlers
• Badger gate: gate to allow badgers to pass through rabbit-proof fencing
• City gate of a walled city
• Hampshire gate (a.k.a. New Zealand gate, wire gate, etc.)
• Kissing gate on a footpath
• Lychgate with a roof
• Mon Japanese: gate. The religious torii compares to the Chinese pailou (paifang), Indian torana, Indonesian Paduraksa and Korean hongsalmun. Mon are widespread in Japanese gardens.
• Portcullis of a castle
• Race gate used for checkpoints on race tracks
• Slip gate on footpaths
• Turnstile
• Watergate of a castle by navigable water
• Slalom skiing gates
• Wicket gate

Image gallery

• 
  Shankharacharya,Gate,Birgunj, is main entry Point of Nepal from India
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  This gate and massive gateposts has no locks—a gate marks a borderline in ownership/use and can allow passage.
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  A small, elegant gate to a meadow path
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  Ishtar Gate is the oldest city gate in existence
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  Wringin Lawang, a 14th-century Majapahit split gate, called "Candi bentar", in Trowulan, Java, Indonesia
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  Richly decorated Indonesian Balinese temple gate called Paduraksa
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  This gate at Columbia University was closed to prevent entry of protesters
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  The gate of Finlayson factory in Tampere, Finland
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  A gate at Kansai University, built in 1923
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  Malaysian King's Palace Gate, Kuala Lampur
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  Medieval ironclad city gate, from the Upper Gate in the old town of Ohrid
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  Chinese traditional type gate (iron gate in front of house) in Kerala, India
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  Gates decorate routes in the entrance of Muscat, Oman
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  Kuwait Gate, historically surrounded Kuwait City, built in 1929
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  Royal Military College of Canada front gates and gatehouse
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  Ernst Rudolph, By the Entrance
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  A wooden gate pictured in the coat of arms of Nivala
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  Decorative emblems of state are also fixed on gates to public buildings, old Royal Melbourne Mint
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  Gate of Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Bhavnagar, India
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  Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University gate on the eve of Namvistar Din celebrations reflects Ajanata art
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  Michael's Gate in Bratislava, Slovakia
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  St. Louis Gateway Arch
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  A Chinese Paifang at Foshan, China
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  Warsaw University main gate, Poland
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  Gate of Farm Gunsteling in Namibia (2017)
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  Thai Temple (wat) gate at Wat Suan Dok, Chiang Mai
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  A gopuram, Hindu temple gate tower, in Sri Lanka
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  A Japanese temple gate (mon) at Eiheiji
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  A Moorish architecture gate in Alhambra, Granada, Spain
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  A French-manner gate of the embassy of Thailand in Paris
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  Adapted-Korean-manner gate of the embassy of South Korea in Moscow
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  The Iron Gates of Osgoode Hall, Toronto
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  Beachside gate with a self-latching device and a higher than 54” release mechanism.

See also

• City Gate
• Barricade
• Boom barrier (a.k.a. boom gate)
• Border
• Gate tower
• Gopuram
• Leave the gate as you found it
• Portal (architecture)
• Portcullis
• Threshold (disambiguation)
• Triumphal arch
• List of scandals with "-gate" suffix
• Watergate, as used in politics