Grotto, Gulch, Gulf, Gully: Origins, Forms, Histories of Words Meaning Valley, Cave

Valleys and caves, as well as human-made features of a similar nature, are known by many different words in English. In the current alphabetic series of such terms, the next examples are grotto, gulch, gulf, gully, and gut.

Grotto
Grotto entered English in the 17th century from Italian grotta and grotto, from Latin crypta ("cavern, crypt").

The original meaning of grotto is a small cave or cavelike recess, especially one having a rocky, picturesque appearance (1617).

An artificial structure resembling a natural rocky cave and often serving as a place of recreation is a grotto (1625).

Gulch
The topographical gulch emerged in the 19th century, probably from the British dialectal verb gulch ("to gulp"), from Middle English gulchen.

A deep ravine with steep sides, especially one containing a torrent, is a gulch (1832).

Gulf
Modern English gulf (17th century) comes from Middle English goulf (15th century) and golf (14th century), from Middle French golfe, from Italian golfo, from Late Latin colpus, from Greek kolpos ("bosom, gulf"). The word is akin to Old English hwealf ("vault").

Early senses of the word include a watery abyss (14th century) and a part of an ocean extending into land (c. 1400).

Gulf also has senses pertaining to valleys and caves: any great chasm or abyss, an opening in the earth caused by an earthquake or volcanic action, and a vast ravine or gorge (16th century).

Gully
The topographical gully (17th century) comes from the obsolete gully meaning "gullet," which is probably an alteration of gullet.

A miniature valley or gorge created in the earth by the erosive effects of running water, and through which water runs after rains, is a gully (1637).

A deep, narrow artificial watercourse-that is, a drain or gutter-is called a gully in British dialect (1789).

Gut
Modern English gut comes from Middle English gut (14th century), from Old English guttas (before 12th century). The word is akin to Old English geotan ("to pour").

The original meaning of gut is the entrails (before 1000).

By extension the word came to mean any narrow passage. A narrow land passage between two descending slopes is a gut (1615).
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Encyclopaedia Britannica Ready Reference 2004. CD-ROM. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2004.

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. 11th ed. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 2006.

Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary. 3rd ed. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 2007.

The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1989.