guttural means sounding harsh and throaty.
guttural is pronounced /ˈɡʌtəɹəl/.
Why “guttural” is a great word
Of a speech sound, articulated in the back of the mouth or throat, often producing a harsh, rasping quality. From the Latin *guttur* ("throat") + *-ālis* ("pertaining to"), via Middle French *guttural* and New Latin *gutturālis*; first attested in English c. 1590s. Unlike "mellifluous," which flows with honeyed sweetness, or "velar," which precisely locates the tongue against the soft palate, "guttural" evokes the raw, visceral geography of the throat itself. It is the scrape of a uvular *r* in a French curse, the phlegmy *ch* of a Scottish loch, the low, involuntary growl trapped in the larynx—the sound of language clawing its way up from the body's dark hollows, reminding us that speech begins not in the mind, but in the warm, wet depths of the self.
Etymology
From Middle French guttural, from New Latin gutturālis, from Latin guttur (“throat”) + -ālis.
adj
- Sounding harsh and throaty.“Arabic is considered a very guttural language, with many harsh consonants.”
- having a place of articulation towards the back of the mouth; in modern use, uvular, pharyngeal, or glottal; in earlier or non-technical use, also including velar.
- Of, relating to, or connected to the throat.“guttural duct of the ear; guttural pouch infection”
noun
- A harsh and throaty spoken sound“He was hairy, and his speech of rough gutturals was imperfect.”
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