Guttering

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. The damage or decay of wood that reveals the inner makeup of the material ; a structure, typically along the edge of a roof, designed to collect and direct rainwater away from the building
2. The process where wood deteriorates and exposes its internal fibers or cells ; a narrow channel meant to transport rain from rooftops to drainage areas
3. When wooden material erodes or breaks down to show its internal composition ; a constructed conduit used on roofs to manage rainwater runoff

Etymology: Guttering is the present participle and gerund of "gutter", and the verb's story starts with a drop of water. The noun "gutter" came into Middle English from Anglo-Norman "guttere", which was borrowed from Old French "goutiere" (today's French "gouttière"), a word built on Latin "gutta", meaning "drop". The original gutters were the spouts and channels that carried falling rain away from roofs, so the word was tied to the dripping itself before it ever described a street-side drain. Over time the sense spread. Because a channel that carries water often ends up collecting filth, "gutter" came to mean the drain at the edge of a road, and later the lowest, dirtiest part of society or of a profession. Those later senses are the reason the word once sounded lowly, while its first job was simply to catch the rain. The verb "to gutter" developed from the noun, and its meaning shifted in another direction. Of a candle, it means to flicker and burn low, as if the flame were dripping away, which echoes the older idea of liquid running down.