n.
Gaw pl. gates; Pe pl. gateʒ; WA pl. gatis, gats
'way, road, path; way, manner' (Modern English gate)
PGmc Ancestor
*gatwōn
Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)
gata ‘way, path, road’
(ONP gata (sb.))
Other Scandinavian Reflexes
Far gata, gøta, Icel gata, Norw gate, gote, Dan gade, Sw gata
OE Cognate
Phonological and morphological markers
[absence of palatalization of */ɡ/] (possibly diagnostic)
Summary category
B2abc
Recorded mainly from N and E sources in ME, though there are signs of wider distribution inc. in alliterative texts (e.g. Hrl 2253, PP, WPal.). On the (predominantly N/EM) place-name (and street-name) evidence see EPNE, and further Hough 2010: 10–11; MnE dial usage in N, Sc. and Irel.
Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus
Gaw 696, 709, 778, etc.; Pe 395, 526, 619, etc.; Cl 676, 767, 931; Erk 241; WA 143, 516, 812* etc.
Peterson (241n) notes similar metaphorical usages in Erk and Pe. WA occurrences include þus-gate, trod-gate, any-gates, march-gats (generally printed as one word).