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gatefold

gatefold

1 9.2
A large folded page in a book, magazine, or album cover that opens to show a wide picture
  • noun
  • /ˈɡeɪtfoʊld/
  • Specialized
translation icon : página desplegable
  • The artwork, the gatefold sleeve, the lyrics, the smell and touch of the cover, the record label itself, the limited editions, the aesthetic of the vinyl, and all of its grooves.
  • gatefold map

Examples

  • Innovation: Lyric Sheets and Gatefold Sleeves

    Blog text (17)
  • Turn the page and fold out the gatefold to reveal the stunning artwork.

  • When Frank released his double album, the gatefold picture showed his bedroom.

  • The package will be a double LP with a gatefold jacket and the CD's original artwork.

    Blog text (30)
  • The book includes a seven-foot gatefold with images of 37 former and current champs.

    Blog text (17)
  • The app format brings you back to that world of gatefold sleeves, of being able to read lyrics - and now of being able to play the album at home on your plasma TV.

    Blog text (32)
  • Lyrics, gatefolds, and extra inserts are things we take for granted today, but before Sgt. Pepper's, they didn't really exist.

    Blog text (17)
  • When Frank released his double album, the gatefold picture showed his bedroom.

  • The book includes a seven-foot gatefold with images of 37 former and current champs.

Synonyms

centerfold
vsgatefold
  • US
16 6.8

A large picture printed across the two middle pages of a magazine

is any oversize folded page not limited to the middle spread
foldout
vsgatefold
2 5.4

A large page kept inside a book or magazine that opens to show a picture such as a map

is similar but also includes record sleeve pages

How Wide

foldout
2 5.4
gatefold
  • Specialized
1 9.2
spread
  • Jargon
15 5.8
page
1.0

Surface Forms

gatefold singular
gatefolds plural

Morphology

gatefold = gate + fold (transparent) = gate + fold

The compound is formed from two familiar nouns and denotes a fold designed to open or behave like a gate, so its meaning is directly recoverable from its parts.

Etymology

The word gatefold comes from two simple English parts, gate ('a door that opens') and fold ('to bend' or 'fold'), so it suggests a page that opens like a door; a gatefold is like a paper 'door' that opens out to show a large picture, which is why the name fits the extra-wide page used in albums and magazines.