gulp
English
WOTD – 26 December 2015
Etymology
From Middle English gulpen, probably from Middle Dutch gulpen, golpen, related to West Frisian gjalpe, gjalpje, gjealpje (“to gush, spurt forth”), Danish gulpe, gylpe (“to gulp up, disgorge”), dialectal Swedish glapa (“to gulp down”), Old English gealpettan (“to gulp down, eat greedily, devour”). More at galp.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɡʌlp/
Audio (AU) (file)
Noun
gulp (plural gulps)
- The usual amount swallowed.
- 1898, J. Meade Falkner, Moonfleet Chapter 4
- What the liquor was I do not know, but it was not so strong but that I could swallow it in great gulps and found it less burning than my burning throat.
- 1898, J. Meade Falkner, Moonfleet Chapter 4
- The sound of swallowing, sometimes indicating fear.
- 1906, Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, Chapter 17
- Little Stanislovas was also trembling, and all but too frightened to speak. "They — they sent me to tell you — " he said, with a gulp.
- 1994, James Charles Collins, Jerry I. Porras, Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
- Indeed, the envisioned future should produce a bit of "the gulp factor" […] , there should be an almost audible "gulp".
- 1906, Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, Chapter 17
Translations
usual amount swallowed
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sound of swallowing
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Verb
gulp (third-person singular simple present gulps, present participle gulping, simple past and past participle gulped)
- To swallow eagerly, or in large draughts; to swallow up; to take down at one swallow.
- Cowper
- He does not swallow, but he gulps it down.
- Fielding
- The old man […] glibly gulped down the whole narrative.
- Cowper
- To react nervously by swallowing.
- 1930, P. G. Wodehouse, A Damsel in Distress, 2004, page 198
- The man eyed Percy with a chilly eye. "Well," he said, "What's troublin you?" Percy gulped. The man's mere appearance was a sedative. "Er-nothing! […]"
- 2003, Carl Deuker, High Heat, page 140
- I'd always been nervous-excited; this was nervous-terrified. When I finished puking, I sat down gulping air for a while, trying to pull myself together.
- 2006, Nancy Anne Nicholson, Thin White Female in No Acute Distress: A Memoir, page 187
- My heart was beating madly and I was gulping nervous energy.
- 1930, P. G. Wodehouse, A Damsel in Distress, 2004, page 198
Synonyms
- (mouthful, or to drink): See also Thesaurus:drink
Translations
to swallow eagerly, or in large draughts
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to react nervously
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Interjection
gulp
- Indication of an involuntary fear reaction.
- 1982, Gary Smalley, If Only He Knew, page 163
- "Honey, I know you want to go to their home next week, but there's one thing that keeps happening when we're together that really drives me away from social gatherings in general. (Oh, what is it … gulp.) Well, I'm not sure I can really explain it without offending you. (Gulp, gulp.) Do you really want to talk about it? (Yes.) […]"
- 1982, Gary Smalley, If Only He Knew, page 163
Related terms
See also
- slug (in the sense of an amount swallowed)
Further reading
swallowing on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Dutch
Pronunciation
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -ʏlp
Turkmen
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