Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
GATE
I. noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English geat; akin to Old Norse gat opening Date: before 12th century an opening in a wall or fence, a city or castle entrance often with defensive structures (as towers),
3. the frame or door that closes a gate, a movable barrier (as at a grade crossing),
4. a means of entrance or exit, starting gate , an area (as at a railroad station or an airport) for departure or arrival, a space between two markers through which a competitor must pass in the course of a slalom race,
5. a door, valve, or other device for controlling the passage especially of a fluid, b. an electronic switch that allows or prevents the flow of current in a circuit, an electrode in a field-effect transistor that modulates the current flowing through the transistor according to the voltage applied to the electrode, a device (as in a computer) that outputs a signal when specified input conditions are met , a molecule or part of a molecule that acts (as by a change in conformation) in response to a stimulus to permit or block passage (as of ions) through a cell membrane, dismissal , the total admission receipts or the number of spectators (as at a sports event),
II. transitive verb (gated; gating)
Date: 1835
to punish by confinement to a campus or dormitory, to supply with a gate, to control by means of a gate,
III. noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old Norse gata road; akin to Old High German gazza road
Date: 13th century
way , path , method , style