lych-gate

See also: lychgate

English

Alternative forms

  • lychgate, lych gate, lichgate, lich-gate, lich gate, litchgate, litch-gate, litch gate, lytchgate, lytch-gate, lytch gate, lykegate, lyke-gate, lyke gate

Etymology

From lich (“corpse”) +‎ gate.

Noun

lych-gate (plural lych-gates)

  1. A churchyard gateway with a roof, under which a corpse was laid during a funeral to await the arrival of the clergyman.
    • 1851, Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, The Moorland Cottage‎[1], HTML edition, Project Gutenburg, published 2004:
      If you take the turn to the left, after you pass the lyke-gate at Combehurst Church, …
    • 1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 68:
      Church Hill climbs steeply to All Saints, with its lych-gate at the entrance to the churchyard.

Translations

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