gangway

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Nautical A passage along either side of a ship's upper deck.
2. n. Nautical See gangplank.
3. n. Nautical An opening in the bulwark of a ship through which passengers may board.
4. n. A narrow passageway, as of boards laid on the ground.
5. n. The main level of a mine.
6. n. Chiefly British The aisle that divides the front and rear seating sections of the House of Commons.
7. n. Chiefly British An aisle between seating sections, as in a theater.
8. interj. Used to clear a passage through a crowded area.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A passage; a temporary passageway to a building while in the course of erection; a way or avenue into or out of any inclosed place, especially a passage into or out of a ship, or from one part of a ship to another.
2. n. A passageway between rows of seats or benches; specifically, in the British House of Commons, a passageway across the house dividing it into two parts. Above this passage or gangway sits the Speaker, with the ministry and their supporters on his right, and the leaders of the opposition and their supporters on his left. The members who occupy seats on the other side of the passage are said to sit below the gangway—a position which does not imply separation on similarly strict party lines.
3. n. In coal-mining, the main haulage road or level driven on the strike of the coal; any minepassage used for opening breasts, or for the hulage of the coal.
4. n. In forestry, the inclined plane up which logs are moved from the water into a sawmill. Also called jack-ladder, log-jack, logway, and slip.

Wiktionary

1. n. A passageway through which to enter or leave, such as one between seating areas in an auditorium, or between two buildings.
2. n. An articulating bridge or ramp, such as from land to a dock or a ship.
3. n. A temporary passageway, such as one made of planks.
4. n. rare, obsolete A clear path through a crowd or a passageway with people.
5. n. UK An aisle.
6. n. nautical A passage along either side of a ship's upper deck.
7. n. nautical A passage through the side of a ship or though a railing through which the ship may be boarded.
8. n. agricultural An earthen and plank ramp leading from the stable yard into the upper storey or mow of a dairy barn.
9. interj. to a crowd Make way! Clear a path!

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. A passage or way into or out of any inclosed place; esp., a temporary way of access formed of planks.
2. n. 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. n. (Naut.) The opening through the bulwarks of a vessel by which persons enter or leave it.
4. n. (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.

WordNet 3.0

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