Mounth

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An old spelling of the opening in the face used for eating and speaking ; a Scottish word for a high mountain pass or upland route
2. An archaic form of the word for the opening through which food enters the body ; a Scots name for a steep pass through the hills
3. A variant spelling of the body's mouth, the aperture for eating and speaking ; in Scotland, a high route or gap through mountains

Etymology: Despite its resemblance to "mount," "mounth" has nothing to do with the Latin word "mons." It is a Scots word, and its likely source is the Scottish Gaelic "monadh," meaning mountain or upland moor, which is related to the Old Irish "monad." The "th" ending is the Scots spelling of that sound, and the word was used for high ground in general. Its most lasting use is as a place name. The Mounth is the name of a group of upland passes and high routes across the Grampian Mountains in northeast Scotland, and the old tracks that crossed them carried travelers, drovers, and raiders between the Highlands and the lowlands for centuries. In that usage the word refers to the high, rough country itself, and to the routes through it, rather than to a single peak.

Synonyms: mouth