Gate of the BCR Headquarters Building (Bucharest, Romania)

A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by

wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the su ...

s. The word derived from old Norse "gat" meaning

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

or path; But other terms include '' yett and

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as ...

''. 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. A gate may have a latch that can be raised and lowered to both open a gate or prevent it from swinging. Locks are also used on gates to increase the security. Larger gates can be used for a whole building, such as a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

or fortified town. Actual doors can also be considered gates when they are used to block entry as prevalent within a

gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the most ...

. Today, many gate doors are opened by an automated gate operator.

Purpose-specific types of gate

* Baby gate a safety gate to protect babies and toddlers * City gate of a walled city * Hampshire gate (a.k.a. New Zealand gate, wire gate, etc.) * Kissing gate on footpath * Lychgate with a roof *

Mon Mon, MON or Mon. may refer to: Places * Mon State, a subdivision of Myanmar * Mon, India, a town in Nagaland * Mon district, Nagaland * Mon, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India * Mon, Switzerland, a village in the Canton of Grisons * An ...

''Japanese:'' gate. The religious

torii A is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred. The presence of a ''torii'' at the entrance is usually the simples ...

compares to the Chinese pailou (paifang), Indian torana, Indonesian Paduraksa and Korean hongsalmun. Mon are widespread, in Japanese gardens. * Portcullis of a castle * Race gates a gate used checkpoints on race tracks. * Slip gate on footpaths *

Turnstile A turnstile (also called a turnpike, gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce one-way human traffic. In addition, a ...

* Watergate of a castle by navigable water *

Slalom skiing Slalom is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline, involving skiing between poles or gates. These are spaced more closely than those in giant slalom, super giant slalom and downhill, necessitating quicker and shorter turns. Intern ...

gates * Wicket gate

Image gallery

File:Gate ajar.jpg, This gate and massive gateposts has no locks—a gate marks a

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political bo ...

line in ownership/use and can allow passage. File:Garden Gate.JPG, A small, elegant gate to a meadow path File:Pergamonmuseum Babylon Ischtar-Tor.jpg,

Ishtar Gate The Ishtar Gate was the eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon (in the area of present-day Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq). It was constructed circa 575 BCE by order of King Nebuchadnezzar II on the north side of the city. It was part ...

is the oldest city gate in existence File:Wringin Lawang, Trowulan.jpg, Wringin Lawang, a 14th-century

Majapahit Majapahit ( jv, ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀; ), also known as Wilwatikta ( jv, ꦮꦶꦭ꧀ꦮꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦠ; ), was a Javanese Hindu-Buddhist thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia that was based on the island of Java (in modern-day Indonesi ...

split gate, called ''" Candi bentar"'', in Trowulan,

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

File:Ubud temple entrance.jpg, Richly decorated Indonesian

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...

nese

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called church (building), churches), Hindui ...

gate called Paduraksa File:Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at Columbia 8 by David Shankbone.jpg, This gate at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

was closed to prevent entry of protesters File:Finlayson gate1.jpg, The gate of Finlayson factory in

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclo ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

File:Kansai University,1923.jpg, A gate at Kansai University, built in 1923 File:MalKingsPalaceGate.jpg, Malaysian King's Palace Gate, Kuala Lampur File:Ohrid Upper Gate close-up.jpg, Medieval ironclad city gate, from the Upper Gate in the old town of

Ohrid Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording a population of over 42,000 inh ...

File:Chinese_type_gate_from_kerala.jpg, Chinese traditional type gate (iron gate in front of house) in Kerala, India File:MuscatRoadGate.jpg, Gates decorate routes in the entrance of Muscat, Oman File:Kuwaitgate.jpg, Kuwait Gate, historically surrounded Kuwait City, built in 1929 File:Royal Military College of Canada front gates.jpg, Royal Military College of Canada front gates and

File:Ernst Rudolph By the Entrance.jpg, Ernst Rudolph, ''By the Entrance'' File:Royal_Mint_Melbourne.jpg, Decorative emblems of state are also fixed on gates to public buildings, old Royal Melbourne Mint File:Shri Swaminarayan Mandir gate.jpg, Gate of Shri Swaminarayan Mandir,

Bhavnagar Bhavnagar is a city in the Bhavnagar district of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, a state of India. It was founded in 1723 by Bhavsinhji Takhtasinhji Gohil (1703–1764). It was the capital of Bhavnagar State, which was a princely state befo ...

, India File:Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University gate on the eve of Namvistar Din celebrations.png, Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University gate on the eve of Namvistar Din celebrations reflects Ajanata art File:Michael's Gate and tower-Bratislava-Slovakia.JPG, Michael's Gate in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% o ...

, Slovakia File:St Louis Gateway Arch.jpg, St. Louis Gateway Arch File:Shunfeng Park Paifang (night).jpg, A Chinese

Paifang A ''paifang'', also known as a ''pailou'', is a traditional style of Chinese architectural arch or gateway structure. Evolved from the Indian subcontinent's '' torana'' through the introduction of Buddhism to China, it has developed many styles ...

Foshan Foshan (, ), alternately romanized as Fatshan, is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. The entire prefecture covers and had a population of 9,498,863 as of the 2020 census. The city is part of the western side of the ...

, China File:Warszawa, ul. Krakowskie Przedmieście 26-28 20170516 001.jpg, Warsaw University main gate, Poland File:Gate of Farm Gunsteling in Namibia (2017).jpg, Gate of Farm ''Gunsteling'' in

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and e ...

(2017) File:Ancient gate of Suandok temple , Chiangmai , Thailand.jpg, Thai Temple ( wat) gate at Wat Suan Dok,

Chiang Mai Chiang Mai (, from th, เชียงใหม่ , nod, , เจียงใหม่ ), sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city i ...

File:Ariyalai Mahamari Amman Kovil (அரியாலை மகாமாரி அம்மன் கோவில்).jpg, A gopuram, Hindu temple gate tower, in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

File:Eiheiji35nt3200.jpg, A Japanese temple gate (mon) at Eiheiji File:Puerta Torre de los siete suelos Alhambra Granada Spain.jpg, A

Moorish architecture Moorish architecture is a style within Islamic architecture which developed in the western Islamic world, including al-Andalus (on the Iberian peninsula) and what is now Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia (part of the Maghreb). The term "Moorish" ...

gate in Alhambra,

Granada Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

File:Gate of the Thai Embassy in Paris.jpg, A

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

-manner gate of the embassy of Thailand in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

File:Embassy of South Korea in Moscow, gates.jpg, Adapted- Korean-manner gate of the embassy of South Korea in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

File:Iron Gates-Osgoode Hall National Historic Site of Canada-Toronto-Ontario-HPC4258-20221201.jpg, The Iron Gates of Osgoode Hall,

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

References

External links

{{Authority control Doors Fortification (architectural elements) Garden features

Purpose-specific types of gate

Image gallery

See also

References

External links