Gibraltar
gib·ral·tar
noun
location of a colony of the United Kingdom on a limestone promontory at the southern tip of Spain; strategically important because it can control the entrance of ships into the Mediterranean; one of the Pillars of Hercules
Origin
From Spanish Gibraltar, from Arabic جَبَل طَارِق (jabal ṭāriq, “Mount Tariq”), named after Tariq ibn Ziyad, who led the Umayyad conquest of Hispania, starting in 711. Replaced earlier Latin Mons Calpe (“Mount Calpe”) for the land, and Columnae Herculis, from Ancient Greek Ἡράκλειαι στῆλαι (Hērákleiai stêlai, “Pillars of Hercules”), for the strait. The barangay in Baguio, Philippines is named by a German national "Jonathan Speth" after the Rock of Gibraltar in Europe. He lived and died in the barangay.
Phrases
- Gibraltar fever
- Gibraltar Range
- Gibraltar Rock
- Rock of Gibraltar
- Strait of Gibraltar
Related words
Word family
Broader terms
Part of
WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.