| a roofed gate to a churchyard under which a bier is set down during a burial service to await the coming of the clergyman. |
lich gate  (lĭch)  n. Variant of lych-gate. |
| lych-gate or lych gate also lich gate (lĭch'gāt') n. A roofed gateway to a churchyard used originally as a resting place for a bier before burial. [Middle English lycheyate : lyche, corpse, body (from Old English līc; see līk- in Indo-European roots) + gate, yate, gate; see gate1.] |
