Where does “Filegate” come from?

Filegate (English) comes from English gate, from Middle English gate, from Old English ġeat, from Old French gaut, from Proto-West Germanic walþu, from Proto-Germanic walþuz, from Proto-Indo-European wel- — to see.

Filegate (English): The White House FBI files controversy of the late 1990s

Definitions

  1. The White House FBI files controversy of the late 1990s

Ancestry of “Filegate”, step by step

Filegate traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English gate

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishgateA doorlike structure outside a house; Doorway,...
2Middle EnglishgateAn entryway or entrance to a settlement or...
3Old Englishġeatgate; a gate, door
4Old Frenchgautforest, woods, woodland
5Proto-West Germanicwalþuforest
6Proto-Germanicwalþuzforest
7Proto-Indo-Europeanwel-to see

via English filé

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishfiléA spicy herb made from the dried and ground...
2Frenchfilépast participle of filer; simple or twisted...
3Frenchfilerto spin; to thread through; to spin a thread
4Latinfīlāre
5Latinfīlumthread, string, filament, fiber
6Proto-Italicfī(s)lom
7Proto-Indo-EuropeangʷʰiH-(s-)lo-
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wel-Every word from Proto-Germanic walþuzEvery word from Proto-West Germanic walþu