gut English · revision 10509

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1000|origins=ine-pro *ǵʰew-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɡʌt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English gutte, [[inh|ang|guttas|t=bowels, entrails]] (plural), probably related to gēotan, to pour,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) from Proto-Germanic *gut-, from PIE *gheu-, to pour.^(Etymonline) Related words are Middle Dutch gote, gutter, and German [[m|de|Gosse|t=gutter, drain]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The bowels or entrails: before 1000.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The singular, an intestine, is from the 14th century,^(Hoad 1986)^(OED 1989) and the abdomen or belly from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) A narrow passage of water is from the 1530s.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) The inside or contents of anything, usually ''guts'', is from the 1570s.^(Etymonline) ''Guts'', energy, courage, force of character, is from 1893.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Cresswell 2021) The verb, to remove the guts of, is from about 1390, and figuratively to plunder the contents of by the 1680s.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Easy college course is student slang from 1916.^(Etymonline) ''To hate someone's guts'' is from 1918, ''gutsy'' from 1936, and the adjective, basic or instinctive, as ''gut reaction'', from 1963.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1000 – the entrails.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1390 – to gut (verb).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1530s – a narrow channel.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1893 – guts, courage.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1936 – gutsy.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1963 – gut reaction.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The intestine or stomach, or the whole alimentary canal.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(guts)'' The bowels or entrails.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(guts, informal)'' Courage or nerve.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The innermost or essential part: ''the guts of a problem''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Catgut, used for strings or surgical stitches.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A narrow channel or passage.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To remove the entrails of.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To destroy the inside of a building.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Instinctive or emotional: ''a gut feeling''.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[gutty]]

+ * [[gutlike]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[blood-and-guts]]

+ * [[guts]]

+ * [[gutsy]]

+ * [[gutter]]

+ * [[catgut]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}