gulp

Etymology

From Middle English gulpen, probably from West Flemish or Middle Dutch gulpen, golpen, of uncertain origin. Perhaps of imitative origin, or related to Dutch galpen (“to roar, squeal”), English galp, gaup (“to gape”). Related to German Low German gulpen (“to gush out, belch, gulp”), West Frisian gjalpe, gjalpje, gjealpje (“to gush, spurt forth”), Danish gulpe, gylpe (“to gulp up, disgorge”), dialectal Swedish glapa (“to gulp down”), Old English galpettan (“to gulp down, eat greedily, devour”). More at galp.

noun

1. The usual amount swallowed.
2. The sound of swallowing, sometimes indicating fear.
   Indeed, the envisioned future should produce a bit of "the gulp factor" […], there should be an almost audible "gulp". 1994, James Charles Collins, Jerry I. Porras, Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
3. (rare, computing) An unspecified small number of bytes, often two.

verb

1. To swallow eagerly, or in large draughts; to swallow up; to take down in one swallow.
2. To react nervously by swallowing.
   The man eyed Percy with a chilly eye. "Well," he said, "What's troublin you?" Percy gulped. The man's mere appearance was a sedative. "Er-nothing! […]" 1930, P. G. Wodehouse, A Damsel in Distress, published 2004, page 198
   I'd always been nervous-excited; this was nervous-terrified. When I finished puking, I sat down gulping air for a while, trying to pull myself together. 2003, Carl Deuker, High Heat, page 140
   My heart was beating madly and I was gulping nervous energy. 2006, Nancy Anne Nicholson, Thin White Female in No Acute Distress: A Memoir, page 187

intj

1. An indication of (the sound of) an involuntary fear reaction in the form of a swallowing motion.
   "Honey, I know you want to go to their home next week, but there's one thing that keeps happening when we're together that really drives me away from social gatherings in general. (Oh, what is it … gulp.) Well, I'm not sure I can really explain it without offending you. (Gulp, gulp.) Do you really want to talk about it? (Yes.) […]" 1982, Gary Smalley, If Only He Knew, page 163