Gatekeeping

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. The act of controlling or restricting who is allowed to enter, participate, or have access to a particular group, area, or resource
2. A process of managing or limiting access to communities, information, or opportunities by setting standards or qualifications
3. The practice of regulating entry or involvement in a social or professional context through criteria or authority

Etymology: Gatekeeping began as a plain piece of compounding: "gate" and "keep" joined to name the person who guards an entrance. The noun "gatekeeper" came first, and the verb "gatekeep" was later back-formed from it, meaning to act as such a guard. That reversal is the unusual part. Most verbs are built from nouns by adding endings, but here English worked backwards, trimming the "-er" off the person's title to create an action word. The original sense was literal: a gatekeeper was someone who physically controlled a passage, a role that dates back to the walls and doorways of castles, towns and estates. Over time the image moved from stone gateways to social ones, so that a person who decides who may join a group or obtain something is now said to be gatekeeping. The "gatekeeping" form is simply the verb's present participle and gerund, used both as an action and as a noun for that action.

Synonyms: filtering, controlling

Antonyms: accessing, allowing