floodgate (ˈflʌdˌɡeɪt)

—n
1.	See also sluicegate head gate, Also called: water gate a gate in a sluice that is used to control the flow of water
2.	(often plural) a control or barrier against an outpouring or flow: to open the floodgates to immigration

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

floodgate

early 13c. in the figurative sense (especially with reference to tears or rain); literal sense is mid-15c.; from flood + gate.

Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia

floodgate

gate for shutting out or releasing the flow of water over spillways, in connection with the operation of a dam. Vertical lift, or radial, gates rise to permit flow under the gate but over the spillway crest. Drum gates rotate backward, lowering their tops and permitting a measured flow over the top of the gate. Drum gates present the fewest problems in the passage of ice or drift over the spillway.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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head gate

water gate

Matching Quote

"Once at thy Feast, I saw thee Pearle-like stand
'Tween Heaven and Earth, where Heavens Bright glory all
In streams fell on thee, as a floodgate and
Like Sun Beams through thee on the World to Fall.
Oh! Sugar sweet then! My Deare sweet Lord, I see
Saints Heaven-lost Happiness restor'd by thee."

-Edward Taylor

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Floodgate

flood·gate