Gateway
/ˈɡeɪtˌweɪ/noun
A place or opening that allows passage into or out of something; by extension, an entry point or access point.
Did you know?Gateway is a transparent compound of Old English gate + way, and in older English a gate could mean the opening itself, so the word originally framed passage as a path through a barrier.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*gataną
“opening, gap, way through”
Old English
OE
gæt
“gate, opening, door, passage”
Old English
OE
weg
“way, road, path, journey”
Middle English
ME
gatewei
“a way by or through a gate; entrance”
Modern English
English
gateway
“an entrance or access point, literal or figurative”