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definitions

guttural

[guht-er-uh l]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR guttural ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of or relating to the throat.
harsh; throaty.
Phonetics. pertaining to or characterized by a sound articulated in the back of the mouth, as the non-English velar fricative sound [kh] /x/.

noun

a guttural sound.

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RELATED WORDS

rasping, low, grating, husky, thick, rough, gruff, harsh, hoarse, inarticulate, sepulchral, throaty, glottal, gravelly

Origin of guttural

1585–95; < New Latin gutturālis of the throat, equivalent to Latin guttur gullet, throat + -ālis -al1
Related formsgut·tur·al·ly, adverbgut·tur·al·ness, gut·tur·al·i·ty, gut·tur·al·ism, nounnon·gut·tur·al, adjectivenon·gut·tur·al·ly, adverbnon·gut·tur·al·ness, nounun·gut·tur·al, adjectiveun·gut·tur·al·ly, adverbun·gut·tur·al·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for guttural

Contemporary Examples of guttural

Historical Examples of guttural

  • Back and forth they scurried to the sound of that guttural Japanese voice.

    The Harbor

    Ernest Poole

  • It had a loud thick voice, a guttural whistle, which was intensely mournful.

    His Masterpiece

    Emile Zola

  • There was a hissing yet guttural sound, human in quality, yet horrible to her ears.

    The Film of Fear

    Arnold Fredericks

  • This was said in a guttural voice, the accent being quite Teutonic.

    Melomaniacs

    James Huneker

  • "You've got four, Dr. Bird," said a guttural voice from the dark.

    The Great Drought

    Sterner St. Paul Meek

British Dictionary definitions for guttural

guttural

adjective

anatomy of or relating to the throat
phonetics pronounced in the throat or the back of the mouth; velar or uvular
raucous

noun

phonetics a guttural consonant
Derived Formsgutturally, adverbgutturalness, gutturality or gutturalism, noun

Word Origin for guttural

C16: from New Latin gutturālis concerning the throat, from Latin guttur gullet
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for guttural
adj.

"pertaining to the throat," 1590s, from Middle French guttural, from Latin guttur "throat, gullet" (see bowel). The noun, in linguistics, is from 1690s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for guttural

guttural

[gŭt′ər-əl]

adj.

Of or relating to the throat.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.