A wicket gate is a small gate or door, particularly one built into a larger one. The cricket term "wicket" comes from this usage. The term wicket gate is also used in English to refer to automatic ticket barriers or older staffed ticket gates on Japan's railway network. Wicket gates are also a key component in hydroelectric turbines that control the flow of water from the input pipes (Penstock and then the Scroll [or Spiral] Case) to the turbine propellers (Runners). They are also known as paddles when they are used to regulate flow into and out of lock chambers on canals.
"The Wicket Gate" is an important fictional place and structure in John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. As the first stage of the journey of Christian to the Celestial City, it is the entrance to the King's Highway.