Gate of Tears
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
The passage into the Red Sea. So called by the Arabs (Bab-el-Mandeb) from the number of shipwrecks that took place there.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Gate of Tears” mean?
The passage into the Red Sea. So called by the Arabs (Bab-el-Mandeb) from the number of shipwrecks that took place there.
Is “Gate of Tears” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.