Kissing Gate, top of Thief Lane

At the top of Thief Lane there is a five-bar metal gate which I heard had succumbed to the ravishes of Storm Arwen but it seems the farmer has wasted no time in fixing it so I had to make do with the adjacent kissing gate.

I’d thought of entitling the post ‘Gate-crashed‘, which is better known as a term for a party that has been attended by someone without an invitation. ‘Gate-crasher‘ is a word first used in 1921¹“Gate-crasher.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gate-crasher. Accessed 28 Nov. 2021., so its been around for some time.

A gate-crasher is by definition ‘uninvited‘²Etymonline.com. (2021). Etymonline. [online] Available at: https://www.etymonline.com/word/uninvited [Accessed 28 Nov. 2021]., but if he/she has had an invitation recalled or rescinded, he/she can be said to have been both ‘uninvited‘ and ‘disinvited‘³Etymonline.com. (2021). disinvited | Search Online Etymology Dictionary. [online] Available at: https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=disinvited [Accessed 28 Nov. 2021]..

The prefixes ‘un…‘ and ‘dis…‘ essentially infer the same negative meaning. The former is from Old English, while the latter is from Latin. Generally, ‘un…‘  is applied to words of Old English derivation, and ‘dis…‘  to Latin⁴Editors of Merriam-Webster (2017). Is Disinvite Or Uninvite Correct. [online] Merriam-webster.com. Available at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/disinvite-vs-uninvite [Accessed 28 Nov. 2021].. Although ‘invite‘ has a Latin root — from the verb ‘invitare‘⁵Etymonline.com. (2021). Etymonline. [online] Available at: https://www.etymonline.com/word/invite?ref=etymonline_crossreference [Accessed 28 Nov. 2021]., both ‘univite‘ and ‘disinvite‘ have been used since the 16th/17th-centuries and so are considered equally correct.

• 1
  “Gate-crasher.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gate-crasher. Accessed 28 Nov. 2021.
• 2
  Etymonline.com. (2021). Etymonline. [online] Available at: https://www.etymonline.com/word/uninvited [Accessed 28 Nov. 2021].
• 3
  Etymonline.com. (2021). disinvited | Search Online Etymology Dictionary. [online] Available at: https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=disinvited [Accessed 28 Nov. 2021].
• 4
  Editors of Merriam-Webster (2017). Is Disinvite Or Uninvite Correct. [online] Merriam-webster.com. Available at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/disinvite-vs-uninvite [Accessed 28 Nov. 2021].
• 5
  Etymonline.com. (2021). Etymonline. [online] Available at: https://www.etymonline.com/word/invite?ref=etymonline_crossreference [Accessed 28 Nov. 2021].