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
"The British colony of Gibraltar sits as a strategic fortress on a rocky promontory, controlling access to the Mediterranean Sea."
An overseas territory of the United Kingdom at the southern end of Iberia.
"The British garrison in Gibraltar has guarded the strait between Europe and Africa since 1704."
The name Gibraltar comes from Arabic jabal ṭāriq, meaning "Mount Tariq," and honors Tariq ibn Ziyad, the Muslim general who led the conquest of Spain in 711. This term replaced an earlier Latin name for the landmass while a separate Greek phrase was used to describe the nearby strait.