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Gi·bral·tar¹

(jə-brôltər)

A British colony centered around the heavily fortified Rock of Gibraltar, a strategically located peninsula on the north side of the Strait of Gibraltar, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean between Spain and northern Africa. Gibraltar was captured by Arabs in 711 and passed to the Spanish in 1462. Great Britain captured Gibraltar in 1704 and was granted sovereignty by treaty in 1713.

Gi·bral′tari·an (-târē-ən) adj. & n.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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