gangway Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a temporary passageway of planks (as over mud on a building site)
  2. noun a temporary bridge for getting on and off a vessel at dockside
    gangboard; gangplank.
  3. noun passageway between seating areas as in an auditorium or passenger vehicle or between areas of shelves of goods as in stores
    aisle.

WordNet


Gang"way` noun
Etymology
See Gang, v. i.
Definitions
  1. A passage or way into or out of any inclosed place; esp., a temporary way of access formed of planks.
  2. In the English House of Commons, a narrow aisle across the house, below which sit those who do not vote steadly either with the government or with the opposition.
  3. (Naut.) The opening through the bulwarks of a vessel by which persons enter or leave it.
  4. (Naut.) That part of the spar deck of a vessel on each side of the booms, from the quarter-deck to the forecastle; -- more properly termed the waist. Totten.

Webster 1913