-gate

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See also: gate, Gate, GATE, gâte, gatë, gåte, gatě, and gâté

English

Etymology 1

Back-formation from Watergate, an American political scandal from 1972–1974 which led to resignation of president Richard Nixon. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the suffix first appeared in a 1973 article in the National Lampoon magazine which referenced a rumoured "Volgagate".[1] The suffix was promoted by New York Times columnist William Safire, who coined several -gate words beginning in 1974.

Suffix

-gate

  1. Combined with a relevant place, person, activity, etc. to form the names of scandals.
    • 2022 March 30, Tatum Hunter, “How to leave a bad online review without being a jerk”, in The Washington Post[1], Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 30 March 2022:
      Back in college, [Maddi] Filliater said she tweeted at a local sandwich shop about some alleged brown lettuce, and the business responded angrily: Why didn't she bring up the problem in person instead of attacking them on the Internet? Her friends refer to the incident as "LettuceGate."
Derived terms
Descendants
  • Chinese: (mén) (calque)
    • Mandarin: (mén) (calque)
  • French: -gate
  • German: -gate
  • Korean: 게이트 (geiteu)
Translations
See also

Etymology 2

From Old English geat.

Suffix

-gate

  1. Used to form place names.

References

  1. ^ gate, combform.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

Further reading

Anagrams

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English -gate, from Watergate.

Pronunciation

Suffix

-gate m (plural -gates)

  1. -gate (forms names of scandals)
    • 2012 June 8, “Up & Down”, in Grazia:
      C’est un quasi «currygate» qu’a provoqué Kim en confessant son dégoût de la nourriture indienne.
      Kim Kardashian triggered a virtual ‘currygate’ by confessing her dislike of Indian food.

Derived terms

German

Etymology

Borrowed from English -gate, from Watergate.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡɛɪ̯t/, /ɡeːt/
  • Audio:(file)

Suffix

-gate n

  1. -gate (forms names of scandals)

Derived terms