Watergate

See also: watergate and water gate

English

Richard Nixon, resigning from the U.S. presidency due to the Watergate scandal. As of 2024, Nixon is the only U.S. President to resign from office.

The Watergate Complex in 2006.

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *wed-

Proto-Indo-European *-r̥

Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥

Proto-Germanic *watōr

Proto-West Germanic *watar

Old English wæter

Middle English water

English water

Proto-Indo-European *gʰe(n)d-der.

Proto-Indo-European *gʰed-eti

Proto-Germanic *getaną

Proto-Germanic *gatą

Proto-West Germanic *gat

Old English ġeat

Middle English gate

English gate

Proto-Indo-European *gʰóstis

Proto-Indo-European *pótis

Proto-Indo-European *gʰóstipotis

Proto-Italic *hostipotis

Latin hospes

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?

Proto-Italic *-ālis

Latin -ālis

Latin hospitālis

Old French ostel

Middle French hostel

French hôtelbor.

English hotel

English Watergate Hotel

English Watergate

From the name of the Watergate Hotel; the complex itself was named after the "Water Gate" area where symphony orchestra concerts were staged on the Potomac River between 1935 and 1965.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈwɑtəɹˌɡeɪt/
• Homophone: Wottergate

Proper noun

Watergate

1. An American political scandal (beginning with a burglary in the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC, in 1972) that eventually led to the resignation of US President Richard Nixon.

Derived terms

• -gate
• Watergate salad

Descendants

• → Chinese: 水門 / 水门 (shuǐmén) (calque)

Translations

scandal

• Arabic: ووتر غيت m (wuatar ghit)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 水門事件 / 水门事件 (Shuǐmén shìjiàn)

• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: Watergate, Watergate-skandaali
• French: Watergate m
• Georgian: უოტერგეიტი (uoṭergeiṭi), უოტერგეიტის სკანდალი (uoṭergeiṭis sḳandali)
• German: Watergate (de), Watergate-Affäre (de) f, Watergate-Skandal m
• Hindi: वॉटरगेट m (vŏṭargeṭ)
• Indonesian: Watergate
• Japanese: ウォーターゲート事件 (ウォーターゲートじけん, Wōtāgēto jiken), ウォーターゲート (Wōtāgēto)
• Korean: 워터게이트 사건 (woteogeiteu sageon)
• Malay: Watergate
• Polish: Watergate n
• Portuguese: Watergate m
• Russian: Уотерге́йтский сканда́л m (Uotɛrgéjtskij skandál), Уотерге́йт (ru) m (Uotɛrgéjt), Уо́тергейт (ru) m (Uótɛrgejt)
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can

Verb

Watergate (third-person singular simple present Watergates, present participle Watergating, simple past and past participle Watergated)

1. (transitive) To treat in a manner reminiscent of the Watergate scandal.
2. (intransitive, somewhat rare) To engage in activities associated with the Watergate scandal.

Alternative forms

• watergate

References

• “Watergate, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2021.