A gate is a point of entry to a space enclosed by wall

Wall

A wall is a usually solid structure that defines and sometimes protects an area. Most commonly, a wall delineates a building and supports its superstructure, separates space in buildings into rooms, or protects or delineates a space in the open air...

s, or a moderately sized opening in a fence

Fence

A fence is a freestanding structure designed to restrict or prevent movement across a boundary. It is generally distinguished from a wall by the lightness of its construction: a wall is usually restricted to such barriers made from solid brick or concrete, blocking vision as well as passage .Fences...

. Gates may prevent or control entry or exit, or they may be merely decorative. Other terms for gate include yett and port. The word derives from the old Norse "gata", meaning road or path, and originally referred to the gap in the wall or fence, rather than the barrier which closed it.

Larger gates can be used for a whole building, such as a castle

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

 or fortified town, or the actual door

Door

A door is a movable structure used to open and close off an entrance, typically consisting of a panel that swings on hinges or that slides or rotates inside of a space....

s that block entry through the gatehouse. Today many gate doors are opened by an automated gate operator

Gate operator

A gate operator is a mechanical device used to open and close a gate, such as one at the end of a driveway. There are two main types of electric gate openers hydraulic or electromechanical; these can be further slit into the following categories, worm driven, arm openers and underground openers...

.

See also

• Baby gate
  Baby gate
  A baby gate or child safety gate is a protective barrier designed to prevent young children from accessing areas of a home where they might be unsafe, such as stairways and kitchens. Baby gates are typically constructed of metal, plastic and/or wood, and can be expanded to fit in a range of doorway...
  
  
• Border
  Border
  Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and...
  
  , threshold (disambiguation) or barrier
  Barrier
  A barrier or barricade is a physical structure which blocks or impedes something.Barrier may also refer to:-Physical barriers:* Automatic full barriers, which serve to block roads at railway crossings...
  
  
• Bump Gate
  Bump gate
  A bump gate is a drive-through gate used in rural areas to provide a barrier to livestock that does not require the driver to exit the vehicle, open the gate, drive through, and then close the gate. By contacting the swinging bump gate with the front of a vehicle and then accelerating, the bump...
  
  
• City gate
  City gate
  A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. Other terms include port.-Uses:City gates were traditionally built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city for people, vehicles, goods and animals...
  
  
• Gate (airport)
  Gate (airport)
  A gate in aviation is a long, movable, "bridge" that allows passengers to embark and disembark their aircraft.* Jetway bridges* Air stairs, either built into the aircraft or from a mobile vehicle* Mobile lounges...
  
  
• GATE (Examination)
  Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering
  Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering is an examination administered and conducted jointly by the Indian Institute of Science and the Indian Institutes of Technologies on behalf of the National Coordination Board – GATE, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development ,...
  
  
• Gatehouse
  Gatehouse
  A gatehouse, in architectural terminology, is a building enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a castle, manor house, fort, town or similar buildings of importance.-History:...
  
  
• Gopuram
  Gopuram
  A Gopuram or Gopura, is a monumental tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of any temple, especially in Southern India. This forms a prominent feature of Koils, Hindu temples of the Dravidian style. They are topped by the kalasam, a bulbous stone finial...
  
  
• Doorway or gateway
  Gateway
  A gateway is a point of entry or exit at which a gate may be hung.Gateway may also refer to:-Computer terminology:*Gateway , a computer or a network that allows or controls access to another computer or network...
  
  
• Hampshire gate
  Hampshire gate
  A Hampshire gate, New Zealand gate or wire gate is a type of agricultural gate formed from a section of wire fence which can be removed temporarily....
  
  
• Kissing gate
  Kissing gate
  A kissing gate is a type of gate which allows people to pass through, but not livestock.The normal construction is a half-round, rectangular, trapezial or V-shaped enclosure with a hinged gate trapped between its arms. When the gate is parked at either side of the enclosure, there is no gap to pass...
  
  
• Leave the gate as you found it
  Leave the gate as you found it
  Leave the gate as you found it is an important rule of courtesy in rural areas throughout the world. If a gate is found open, it should be left open, and if it is closed, it should be left closed. It applies to visitors travelling onto or across farms, ranches and stations.In low-rainfall areas,...
  
  
• Lych gate
• Noise gate
  Noise gate
  A Noise Gate or gate is an electronic device or software that is used to control the volume of an audio signal. In its most simple form, a noise gate allows a signal to pass through only when it is above a set threshold: the gate is 'open'. If the signal falls below the threshold no signal is...
  
  
• Torii
  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 profane to the sacred...
  
  
• Triumphal arch
  Triumphal arch
  A triumphal arch is a monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, crowned with a flat entablature or attic on which a statue might be...
  
  
• Turnstile
  Turnstile
  A turnstile, also called a baffle gate, is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. It can also be made so as to enforce one-way traffic of people, and in addition, it can restrict passage only to people who insert a coin, a ticket, a pass, or similar...
  
  

External links

• Photos and locations of gates and stiles in Britain