Bab el Mandeb

[ bahb el mahn-deb ]

noun

1. a strait between the Eritrea-Djibouti border area on the Horn of Africa and the southwestern tip of Yemen, connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. About 20 mi. (32 km) wide.

Bab el Mandeb

/ ˈbæb ɛl ˈmændɛb /

noun

1. a strait between SW Arabia and E Africa, connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden

Word History and Origins

Origin of Bab el Mandeb¹

First recorded in 1790–95; from Arabic: literally, “Gate of Tears”

Example Sentences

The affair with the Bab-el-Mandeb squadron lasted only about two hours and a-half.

From Project Gutenberg

It lies in the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, and has proved the destruction of more than one fine vessel.

From Project Gutenberg

Gate of Tears, the strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, so called from the shipwrecks frequent in it.

From Project Gutenberg

(a) It is “a phonetic corruption, perhaps a softening of the original word”; as Bab-el-mandel is a corruption of Bab-el-mandeb.

From Project Gutenberg