A small or insignificant person; a derogatory term for a coward or contemptible individual.
From 'gut' plus the diminutive suffix '-ling.' Historically, '-ling' created insulting terms (like 'underling'), so 'gutling' combined this with associations of gutlessness.
'-Ling' words like 'gutling,' 'underling,' and 'weasling' show how English speakers used diminutive suffixes not just to make things smaller, but to make them *contemptible*—language was used as a weapon of social hierarchy.
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