gutter: [13] Etymologically, a gutter is something along which ‘drops’ of water run. Its distant ancestor is Latin gutta ‘drop’ (source also of English gout). From it was formed the Vulgar Latin derivative *guttāria, which passed into English via Anglo-Norman gotere. The use of the word as a verb, meaning (of a flame) ‘flicker on the point of going out’, comes from the channel, or ‘gutter’, formed down one side of a candle by the melted wax flowing away. => gout[gutter etymology, gutter origin, 英语词源]