catgut

thumb|A coil of catgut cello string Catgut (also known as gut) is a type of cord that is prepared from the natural fiber found in the walls of animal intestines. Catgut makers usually use sheep or goat intestines, but occasionally use the intestines of cattle, hogs, horses, mules, or donkeys. Despite the name, catgut has never been made from cat intestines.

==Etymology== "Catgut" may derive by folk etymology from kitgut or kitstring — the dialectal word kit, meaning fiddle, having at some point been confused with the word kit for a young cat, the word "kit" being possibly derived from Welsh. In the 16th century a kit was a "small fiddle used by dancing teachers," a name probably derived from a shortening of Old English cythere, from Latin , from Greek (see guitar).