Gulp Is the Sound of Swallowing Hard
To gulp is to swallow quickly in large amounts. The word imitates the noise it describes.
To gulp is to swallow quickly in large mouthfuls, or to catch the breath in shock. The word is imitative and came from Dutch *gulpen*. It sits in a small family of English words built from the sound of the throat: *gulp*, *gulf*, *gullet* and *gargle* all describe the same passage. Comic strips adopted *gulp* as a printed sound effect for anxiety, which is why the word now carries a note of nervousness it never had originally.
- To swallow quickly. *Gulped the water.*
- A large mouthful. *A gulp of air.*
- To catch the breath. *He gulped nervously.*
- Gullet — the throat. *The gullet.*
- Dutch — *gulpen*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | gulp | Gulping. |
| Noun | gulp | A gulp. |
| Past | gulped | Gulped. |
| Related | gullet | The gullet. |
| Dutch | gulpen | To swallow. |
- She gulped the water down.Drinking.
- He gulped at the news.Shock.
- The word imitates the sound.Etymology.
Throat words in English
- Gulp — to swallow in large mouthfuls
- Gullet — the oesophagus
- Gargle — to rinse the throat, from Latin *gurgulio*
- Gorge — the throat, and to eat greedily
- Gulf — a deep throat of water, from the same image
Middle Dutch *gulpen*, to swallow or gush, of imitative origin.
Why does gulp suggest nervousness?
Comic strips used it as a printed sound effect for anxiety, and the association attached itself to the word.
Are gulp and gulf related?
Both rest on the idea of a throat. A gulf is a deep inlet, pictured as a swallowing mouth of water.