catgut

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a tough cord made from the cleaned and twisted intestines of animals, usually sheep, formerly used for musical strings, racket strings, and surgical sutures

   The crystal's narrow channel was wide enough to admit a strand of fine catgut.

A compound of cat + gut, although the material is ordinarily made from sheep or other livestock, not cats. The exact reason for cat in the name is uncertain; proposed explanations include alteration of kitgut, with kit meaning a small fiddle.

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