Small
peninsula on the southern coast of
Spain (sticking out into the
Strait of Gibraltar); a territory of the
United Kingdom since
1704 during the
War of the Spanish Succession. Spain would like to have it back though.
Its name is supposed to be derived from the Arabic "gibel Tarik" or "Tarik's Rock", from Tarik, the leader of the army that invaded Spain from North Africa in the 8th century. The area remained Moorish for centuries, until the Spanish retook it in 1309. It shuttled back and forth for a few decades and finally stayed under Spanish control until the British takeover. (http://www.gibraltar.gi/history/)
Also, the names Gibraltar, or "Rock of Gibraltar," are sometimes used in English for an impregnable stronghold or unchangeable opinion due to the firmness of the military stronghold there; it has survived 15 sieges. (A.Word.A.Day 6 February 2002 and the Oxford English Dictionary)