# door, gate, garden gate



## ThomasK

What do you call *a door* (1), *a gate* (2a, a wide door, a double door), a *garden gate* (2b) in your language, and do you use them in a figurative sense ? _(Let's not talk about the fence in this thread)_

Dutch : 
(1) *deur* - (2a) *poort* - (2b) *tuinpoortje*, *tuinhekje* (so I think)

FiG : via een achterpoortje, probably Flemish, through the backgate (for sneaking in/ tiptoeiing, dodging the law or the rule, I believe, could be explanation in English) 

French
(1) *porte* - (2) *porte* - (2b) porte du jardin ???


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## apmoy70

In Greek:
-Gate (wide door) is "Πύλη" (p*i*li, _f._) from the ancient Greek feminine noun, "ἡ Πύλη-ē 'Pūlē", which according to _J. B. Hofmann (Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Griechischen, München 1950)_ is related to the PIE root *pulā. To express the double door we use the same noun in plural (οι Πύλες-i P*i*les, modern Greek/αἱ Πύλαι-ē 'Pūlae, ancient Greek) e.g "αἱ Πύλαι τοῦ Ἅδους (the Gates [meaning the double door] of Hades)".
-gate is "θύρα" (θ*i*ra, _f._) from the ancient Greek feminine noun, "ἡ θύρα-ē 'tʰūrā", related to the PIE root *dhurā.
-door is again "θύρα" (θ*i*ra, _f._) but it is much more common colloquially to use the Italian loanword "πόρτα" (p*o*rta, _f._).


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## enoo

To complete your examples:  
French:
(1) *porte* - (2) *portail*/porte - (2b) *portillon*/portail/porte

In bold is what I think is the "best" word, and the other suggestion are words commonly used to replace those.
Sometimes "barrière" ("fence") is used for 2b, meaning "the opening part of the fence".


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## Frank78

German:

1.) Tür (f)
2.) a) Tor (n) 
     b) (Garten-)tor (n)

"Tür" and "Tor" can both be replaced by the a bit old-fashioned "Pforte"(f).


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## ThomasK

enoo said:


> Sometimes "barrière" ("fence") is used for 2b, meaning "the opening part of the fence".


 
I thought of two things: 
- in my dialect and maybe standard Dutch a 'barrière' stops us indeed, but it is the stick/ pole lowered 
- 'portail' : yet, there is (was) a porte cochère, I believe, and there still is a 'porte de garage', n'est-ce pas ;-) Could there be a difference in meaning ?


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## Awwal12

In Russian:

1. a door - дверь /dv*e*r'/
An elementary word, I believe.
2. a gate - ворота /vor*o*ta/, always in plural number.
This word is obviously related with the verbs "вертеть" /vert*e*t'/ (to rotate), "поворачивать" /povor*a*chivat'/ (to turn).
3. a garden gate - калитка /kal*i*tka/
Without use of etymological vocabulary, etymology of this word is surely unclear.


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## ThomasK

Maybe one question, Awwal: is a _kalitka_ only a garden gate? I do understand there is no reference to 'garden' in any way. _(Could it be related with [apo]calypse, which implies opening as well ?) _
Do you (often) use any of the three in some figurative sense ?


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## enoo

ThomasK said:


> I thought of two things:
> - in my dialect and maybe standard Dutch a 'barrière' stops us indeed, but it is the stick/ pole let down


A bit the same here if I understood correctly (let down?), it can be anything used to bar a way, often made of metal bars/sticks. 


ThomasK said:


> - 'portail' : yet, there is (was) a porte cochère, I believe, and there still is a 'porte de garage', n'est-ce pas ;-) Could there be a difference in meaning ?



A _"porte de garage"_ is ... well...as the name suggest, just a garage door/gate in a house. =) (or sometimes, leading to the garage part under a building)
A "_portail_" is a double-part gate, and often with the top "open" (that is, not included in a building. It often leads to an driveway)
A "_porte cochère_" is like a portail, but included in a building: it leads to a courtyard  behind the building. (It was used for the "coches" (horse-cars), but now most of them are just "wide doors" to enter a building)
But most of the time, people would just use "porte" or "portail".


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## ThomasK

I am sorry about the 'let down': I had translated the Dutch too literally, I have changed it into 'lowered'. But indeed, I have learnt something: that 'barrière' is way broader than what I had in mind. _(I guess that the whole 'barrière' story did start with 'barring' the way with a bar...)_

With 'portail' there was a misunderstanding again, due to different cultural backgrounds, I think: about all our 'garagepoorten' look like doors, I think I can say, whereas the "garage entry to the garden" would be called the 'tuinpoort' (garden gate), I think. Oh,oh, translating !!!

(Images.Google.nl was very useful [insighful] for this.)


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## Awwal12

ThomasK said:


> Maybe one question, Awwal: is a _kalitka_ only a garden gate? I do understand there is no reference to 'garden' in any way. _(Could it be related with [apo]calypse, which implies opening as well ?) _
> Do you (often) use any of the three in some figurative sense ?


Well, /kalitka/ is just a small gate in a fence. Of course, such gates usually take place in gardens. )
According to Vasmer's dictionary, this word is related either with an old Slavic "коло" /k*o*lo/ - a wheel, or, most likely, with "кол" /k*o*l/ - a stake, a picket; a word "колышек" /k*o*lyshek/ (a peg, lit. "a little stake") is derived from it.
The relation with the Apocalypse (Rus. /apokalipsis/, from Greek αποκαλυψιζ) is hardly possible, because it implies a phonetically impossible transition [ps] -> [t].

/Kal*i*tka/ and /vor*o*ta/ hardly can be used in the figurative sense. /Dver'/ sometimes can, usually in plural.
политика открытых *дверей* - an open-door policy
день открытых *дверей* - an open day (lit. "a day of opened doors")
Для него открыты все *двери* - All doors are opened for him (in different meanings).

A poetic variant of the word /vor*o*ta/, врата /vrat*a*/, can be used in similar way as well, but it makes phrases sound very high.
*Врата* нашего университета открыты перед молодёжью. - The gate of our university is opened for a youth.
This word has come into Russian from the Old Church Slavonic, I believe.

By the way, a word "двери" /dv*e*ri/ (pl. from /dv*e*r'/) also means a doorway (usually in a phrase "в дверях" - "in the doorway").


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## ThomasK

Wooow, interesting information !

Perhaps the explanation might suggest that fences and gates and their words were related initially (it reminded me of a 'barrière' for a second).

Figurative use: 
- open- deurpolitiek, open-deur dag
- een open deur intrappen (kicking in an open door: telling a truism)


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## Encolpius

Hello, in Hungarian: 

ajtó (deur)
kapu (poort)
kertajtó (tuin+deur)
kiskapu (klein+poort)
1. garden gate
2. unfair way to solve something


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## Outsider

ThomasK said:


> What do you call *a door* (1), *a gate* (2a, a wide door, a double door), a *garden gate* (2b) in your language, and do you use them in a figurative sense ? _(Let's not talk about the fence in this thread)_


There are various words for door in Portuguese, most of which are cognates. However, concerning what you ask I can only think of the following:

*1) *porta
*2)* portão, porta
*3)* portão de jardim (if large), portinhola (if small) (There are likely alternatives I couldn't think of.)

*Burro como uma porta* means "dumb as a doorknob".


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## Nizo

In *Esperanto*:

1.  door = _pordo_
2.  gate (large) = _pordego_
3.  gate (small) = _pordeto, pordo_


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## ThomasK

The Hungarian *kiskapu* (thanks for the Dutch translation): I guess we are referring to the same as our 'achterpoortje' (little gate behind, indeed, probably a garden gate). _The funny thing is though that we do not consider it that 'unfair', though indeed illegal, strictly speaking. is it due to the fact that we still consider authority something oppressive, so that dodging it is not considered unfair or not done, but some kind of survival of the smartest, the victory of the shrewdest...  _

Portuguese: great. We would be *'as dumb as a backdoor'*, I believe (stom als een achterdeur), or as a calf, or as a chicken...

Esperanto: it is the only language that I know having a 'largative' (as opposed to a diminutive : what is the right word ?)


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## sakvaka

*Finnish*:

1) door = _ovi
_2) gate = _portti_
3) garden gate = _puutarhaportti_

There's nothing special in these ones, I'm afraid .


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## ThomasK

No big problem. Just wondering :
- how ('broadly' can you use _*ovi*_ ? Only for a real, genuine door or ... ? Do you have a lot of compounds ? 

- what do you associate with *a gate* ? Is a double door a gate? We can call it poort indeed, whereas it strictly speaking is a door... 
Maybe I can add picture references for at least three that might be ambiguous : 
- *[garage-]poort (double door* in fact) : http://www.houtenpoorten-accesso.be/images/garage/garagepoort_3gr.jpg
- *garagepoort* :http://www.eddypeeters.be/images/pro_garagepoort1.jpg
- *weidepoort* (gate to a meadow): http://www.tuinpoorten.com/map/weidepoorten3.jpg
- tuinpoortje (little garden gate) : http://www.castanea.be/Images/tuinpoorten_tuinpoort_portes_porte_bois_jardin.jpg
_(By the way: can I make those URL links shorter ???)_


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## sakvaka

ThomasK said:


> No big problem. Just wondering :
> - how ('broadly' can you use _*ovi*_ ? Only for a real, genuine door or ... ? Do you have a lot of compounds ?
> 
> - what do you associate with *a gate* ? Is a double door a gate? We can call it poort indeed, whereas it strictly speaking is a door...
> Maybe I can add picture references for at least three that might be ambiguous :
> - *[garage-]poort (double door* in fact) : http://www.houtenpoorten-accesso.be/images/garage/garagepoort_3gr.jpg
> - *garagepoort* :http://www.eddypeeters.be/images/pro_garagepoort1.jpg
> - *weidepoort* (gate to a meadow): http://www.tuinpoorten.com/map/weidepoorten3.jpg
> - tuinpoortje (little garden gate) : http://www.castanea.be/Images/tuinpoorten_tuinpoort_portes_porte_bois_jardin.jpg
> _(By the way: can I make those URL links shorter ???)_



- _ovi_: We can also use it in figurative sense, if you meant that. We have many compounds that involve _ovi_, and I am able to make up new ones. Would you like to define your question? 
- I associate all of them with _portti_, except for "garagepoort No. 2" - it's clearly an _autotallinovi_ - door of the garage.


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## ThomasK

Funny that that is the 'rolling door'  is called a door / ovi (I thought it would have been the double door...)...


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## Outsider

ThomasK said:


> Portuguese: great. We would be *'as dumb as a backdoor'*, I believe (stom als een achterdeur), or as a calf, or as a chicken...


I forgot to explain that the literal meaning of the expression is "dumb as a door" (or "donkey as a door" -- the word for "donkey" means dumb in Spanish and Portuguese).


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## ThomasK

It would be interesting to hear about _*tuinpoortjes*_, garden gates, but I'll start another thread for that.


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## bibax

Czech:

1) *dveře* (plurale tantum) = door;

2a) *vrata* (plurale tantum) = a big door (barn door, garage gate, floodgate of a lock chamber);

*brána* (from the verb bránit = to intercept, to inhibit) = gate (castle gates, gates/ports of fortified cities); also common technical term: (communication) port = (kommunikační) brána;

2b) (zahradní) *branka* (dim. of brána) = (garden) little gate/port;

There is also colloq. *fortna* from German Pforte.


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## Rallino

Turkish:

*Kapı *: door (a normal door)

*Anakapı* : Main Gate (lit. Mothergate)

*Portal* : Gate (Mainly used for museums)


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## Tjahzi

*Swedish:

*_Dörr_ - door

_Port - _gate

_Grind_ - door-like part of a fence


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