gatekeeper

English

Etymology

From gate +‎ keeper.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɡeɪt.kiː.pə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɡeɪt.ki.pɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

gatekeeper (plural gatekeepers)

1. A person or group who controls access to something or somebody.
   • 2012, James Lambert, “Beyond Hobson-Jobson: A new lexicography for Indian English”, in World Englishes‎^[1], page 302:

     The sources the citations are drawn from are significant, being printed books or newspapers subject to editorial processes and gatekeepers of language standards, as opposed to unedited texts such as blogs, chatroom logs or student writing.

2. A person who guards or monitors passage through a gate.
   • 1874, Thomas Hardy, chapter 1, in Far from the Madding Crowd. […], volume I, London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], →OCLC, page 9:

     […] “Here,” he said, stepping forward and handing twopence to the gatekeeper; “let the young woman pass.”

   • 1946 January and February, G. A. Sekon, “The L.B.S.C.R. West Coast Section”, in Railway Magazine, page 15:

     At each station is a level crossing, in addition to others away from stations, and, as both the road and rail traffic are heavy, the gatekeepers (mostly signalmen) are quite busy and have acquired well-merited mention for reducing delays to road traffic to a minimum.

3. A common orange and brown butterfly with eyespots, Pyronia tithonus, of the family Nymphalidae.
4. (psychology) In dissociative identity disorder, an aspect of the personality that controls access to the various identities.
5. One who gatekeeps.

Derived terms

• gatekeeperism

Translations

person who guards or monitors passage through a gate

• Aromanian: purtar m
• Bulgarian: портиер (bg) m (portier)
• Catalan: porter (ca) m, portera (ca) f
• Czech: vrátný (cs) m, vrátná f
• Dutch: poortwachter (nl) m, poortwachtster f, portier (nl) m
• Finnish: portinvartija (fi), porttivahti (fi)
• French: gardien (fr) m, gardienne (fr) f
• Galician: porteiro (gl) m
• Georgian: მეკარე (meḳare), კარისმცველი (ḳarismcveli)
• German: Torwächter (de), Torwächterin f, Torwächter (de) m pl, Torwächterinnen f pl
• Gothic: 𐌳𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌰𐍅𐌰𐍂𐌳𐍃 m (daurawards), 𐌳𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌰𐍅𐌰𐍂𐌳𐌰 f (daurawarda)
• Greek:

  Ancient: πυλωρός m (pulōrós)

• Irish: geatóir m
• Italian: guardiano (it) m, guardiana f, custode (it) m or f, portiere (it) m, portiera (it) f, portinaio (it) m, portinaia (it) f
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: dergevan (ku)

• Persian: دربان (fa) sg (darbān)
• Polish: portier (pl) m, portierka (pl) f
• Portuguese: porteiro (pt) m, porteira (pt) f
• Romanian: portar (ro) m, portăreasă (ro) f
• Spanish: portero (es) m, portera f
• Swahili: bawabu (sw)
• Swedish: grindvakt c
• Tagalog: bantay-pinto
• Tocharian B: yenmeᵤ