649: guttural Sep 17, 2016

Usually when people use the word 'guttural', it is an imprecise way of to discuss any sound that is unpleasant to those listeners. The word used to have more precise meanings, signifying a sound that was produced in the throat. In fact, 'guttur' in Latin simply meant that very thing. Because so many people don't happen to like those sounds very much, any sound formed by the throat, lips, tongue, or a combination may be considered guttural. For the purposes of distinction, 'guttural' is not closely related to 'gutter' or 'gut' even though they are all tracks for things to move along. 'Gutter' comes from the Anglo-French meaning, 'drop', and 'gut' comes from Old English.