Editing Strait of Gibraltar (section)

== Names and etymology ==
The name comes from the [[Rock of Gibraltar]], which in turn originates from the Arabic {{Transliteration|ar|Jabal Ṭāriq}} (meaning "Tariq's Mount"),<ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Gibraltar|volume=11|page=938|date=1911}}</ref> named after [[Tariq ibn Ziyad]]. It is also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, the [[Gut (coastal geography)|Gut]] of Gibraltar (although this is mostly archaic),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Strait+of+Gibraltar%2CGut+of+Gibraltar&year_start=1700&year_end=2014&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2CStrait%20of%20Gibraltar%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CGut%20of%20Gibraltar%3B%2Cc0 |title=Google Books Ngram Viewer results "Strait of Gibraltar/Gut of Gibraltar"}}</ref> the STROG (STRait Of Gibraltar) in [[Navy|naval]] use.<ref>See, for instance, [http://www.nato.int/shape/about/natomedals.htm Nato Medals: Medal for Active Endeavor] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060616165312/http://www.nato.int/shape/about/natomedals.htm |date=16 June 2006 }}, awarded for activity in the international water of the Mediterranean and STROG.</ref>

Another Arabic name is ''Bāb al-[[:wikt:مغرب|''maghrib'']]'' ({{langx|ar|باب المغرب|links=no}}), meaning "Gate of the West" or "Gate of the sunset", and furthermore "Gate of the [[Maghreb]]" or "Gate of [[Morocco#Etymology|Morocco]]{{Broken anchor|date=2024-03-26|bot=User:Cewbot/log/20201008/configuration|reason= The anchor (Etymology) [[Special:Diff/1189118635|has been deleted]].}}".{{citation needed|date=April 2022}} In the Middle Ages it was called in Arabic {{Transliteration|ar|Az-Zuqāq}} ({{lang|ar|الزقاق}} 'the Passage'), or {{Transliteration|ar|bḥar az-zuqāq}} ({{lang|ar|بحر الزقاق}} 'the passage sea') and by the Romans {{lang|la|Fretum Gaditanum}} (Strait of [[Cadiz]]).<ref>{{citation |title=Pamphlet of the Museum of the Castle of Guzman el Bueno |publisher=[El Ayuntamiento de Tarifa] accessed 16 November 2016.}}</ref>

In Latin it has been called {{lang|la|Fretum Herculeum}},<ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica 2009">{{cite web |title=Strait of Gibraltar - channel |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |date=14 April 2009 |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Strait-of-Gibraltar |access-date=21 April 2022 |archive-date=14 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214081337/https://www.britannica.com/place/Strait-of-Gibraltar |url-status=live }}</ref> based on the name from antiquity "[[Pillars of Hercules]]" ({{langx|grc|αἱ Ἡράκλειοι στῆλαι|hai Hērákleioi stêlai}}),<ref>Strabo ''Geographia'' 3.5.5.</ref> referring to the mountains as pillars, such as Gibraltar, flanking the strait.