A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word is derived from

Proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic languages, Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from ...

''*gatan'', meaning an opening or passageway. 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. A gate may have a latch that can be raised and lowered to both open a gate or prevent it from swinging. 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 A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

or fortified town. 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 ...

Purpose-specific types of gate

* Baby gate: a safety gate to protect babies and toddlers * Badger gate: gate to allow badgers to pass through rabbit-proof fencing *

City gate A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. It is a type of fortified gateway. Uses City gates were traditionally built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city for people, vehicles, goods ...

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 A is a traditional culture of Japan, 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, and a spot where kami are welcomed and thought to ...

compares to the Chinese pailou (paifang), Indian torana, Indonesian Paduraksa and Korean hongsalmun. ''Mon'' are widespread in

Japanese garden are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden desig ...

s. *

Portcullis A portcullis () is a heavy, vertically closing gate typically found in medieval fortifications. It consists of a latticed Grille (architecture), grille made of wood and/or metal, which slides down grooves inset within each jamb of the gateway. ...

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

File:Shankharacharya,Gate,Birgunj.jpg, Shankharacharya,Gate, Birgunj, is main entry Point of

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

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

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

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 by order of King Nebuchadnezzar II on the north side of the city. It was part of a grand walled proce ...

is the oldest

city gate A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. It is a type of fortified gateway. Uses City gates were traditionally built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city for people, vehicles, goods ...

in existence File:Wringin Lawang, Trowulan.jpg, Wringin Lawang, a 14th-century Majapahit split gate, called ''" Candi bentar"'', in Trowulan,

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

File:Ubud temple entrance.jpg, Richly decorated Indonesian

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, 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 o ...

nese

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

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

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

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

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

File:Kansai University,1923.jpg, A gate at

Kansai University , abbreviated as or , is a Private school, private non-sectarian and coeducational university with its main campus in Suita, Osaka, Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Osaka, Japan and two sub-campuses in Sakai, Osaka, Sakai and Takatsuki, Osaka. Founded as ...

, 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 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 Kuwait City (; ) is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. Located at the heart of the country on the south shore of Kuwait Bay on the Persian Gulf, it is the political, cultural and economic center of the emirate, containing Kuwait's Seif Pal ...

, 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:Nivala.vaakuna.svg, A wooden gate pictured in the coat of arms of Nivala 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, 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 (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

, Slovakia File:St Louis Gateway Arch.jpg, St. Louis

Gateway Arch The Gateway Arch is a monument in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Clad in stainless steel and built in the form of a weighted catenary Catenary arch, arch, it is the world's tallest arch and List of tallest buildings in Missouri, Missouri's ...

File:Shunfeng Park Paifang (night).jpg, A Chinese Paifang at

Foshan Foshan (, ; Chinese: 佛山) 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 Pearl River Delta m ...

, 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 on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

(2017) File:Ancient gate of Suandok temple , Chiangmai , Thailand.jpg, Thai Temple (

wat A wat (, ; , ; , ; ; , ) is a type of Buddhist and Hindu temple in Cambodia, Laos, East Shan State (Myanmar), Yunnan (China), the Southern Province of Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Etymology The word ''wat'' is borrowed from the Sanskrit ''v ...

) gate at Wat Suan Dok,

Chiang Mai Chiang Mai, sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the List of municipalities in Thailand#Largest cities by urban population, second largest city in Thailan ...

File:Ariyalai Mahamari Amman Kovil (அரியாலை மகாமாரி அம்மன் கோவில்).jpg, A gopuram,

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...

gate tower, in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

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

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

File:Gate of the Thai Embassy in Paris.jpg, A French-manner gate of the embassy of Thailand in Paris File:Embassy of South Korea in Moscow, gates.jpg, Adapted- Korean-manner gate of the embassy of South Korea in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

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

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

File: Waterson k51p sample4-2.jpg, Beachside gate with a self-latching device and a higher than 54” release mechanism.

References

External links

{{Authority control Doors Fortification (architectural elements) Garden features Buildings and structures by type

Purpose-specific types of gate

Image gallery

See also

References

External links