MEANING
A roofed entrance to a churchyard, traditionally sheltering a coffin before burial rites.
Use it for
Transitions into burial grounds, sheltered mourners, rural church approaches.Stage a pause between public road and consecrated burial ground.
Words that belong together
- timber lichgate
- wait beneath the lichgate
- churchyard lichgate
On the page
The bearers rested the coffin beneath the lichgate.
Someone had tied fresh ribbons to the lichgate's posts.
From the road, the lichgate framed a narrow view of the oldest graves.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- lichgate
Usage notes
Primary category: gothic. Also lychgate, lych-gate, lich-gate; a specific funerary gateway, not any church door. Plural lichgates; variant plurals lychgates, lych-gates, lich-gates.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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