n.
- a shallow trough beneath the edge of a roof, or a channel at the side of a street, for carrying off rainwater.
▸technical a groove or channel for flowing liquid.
-
(the gutter)
a poor or squalid existence or environment.
- the blank space between facing pages of a book or between adjacent columns of type or stamps in a sheet.
v.
- (of a flame) flicker and burn unsteadily.
- archaic make channels in.
Etymology
ME: from OFr. gotiere, from L. gutta ‘a drop’.