Gateway

How to spell gateway

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce gateway

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does gateway mean?

1. nounAn opening or structure that provides entry, or a means of access to something.
2. nounA device or program that links two computer networks and routes data between them.

Gateway in a sentence

• A stone gateway marked the entrance to the old estate.

• The technician reset the network gateway to restore the connection.

• The small airport serves as the main gateway to the islands.

• All outgoing traffic passes through a secure payment gateway.

Where does gateway come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a native English compound formed from two very old words. 'Gate' descends from the Old English 'geat', meaning an opening or doorway in a wall or fence, which traces back to Germanic roots, while 'way' comes from the Old English 'weg', meaning a road, path, or route, also Germanic in origin and a distant relative of the Latin 'via'. Joined together, 'gateway' originally named the framework or structure around a gate, the physical opening through which one passed into a town, garden, or estate. From that literal meaning it broadened to describe any point of entry or access, and by the twentieth century it was applied figuratively to anything serving as a means of approach, such as a 'gateway to success'. In the computing age the word found fresh life as the name for a device or program that connects one network to another. Because both halves are plain English words, the spelling is regular: the only thing to remember is that it is written as one solid word.

How the word is built

• gate (an opening or barrier)
• way (a path or route)