gothic

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   of a European architectural style marked by pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and high, elaborate structures

   The chapel has narrow Gothic windows and a vaulted stone roof.

2. 2
   adj

   of fiction or art characterized by mystery, horror, decay, and a threatening atmosphere

   The novel combines a ruined mansion with distinctly gothic suspense.

3. 3
   adj

   relating to the ancient Goths or their extinct Germanic language

   Only fragments survive outside the Gothic Bible translation.

Simplified etymology

Gothic derives from the name of the Goths, a Germanic people who invaded parts of Europe in late antiquity. From the mid-17th century it was applied, initially often disparagingly, to medieval architecture; the term became favorable when that style returned to fashion. Goth for a style of music and dress dates from the 1980s.

From Late Latin Gothicus, 'of the Goths.' Renaissance writers applied the name dismissively to medieval architecture, believing it nonclassical or barbarous; later it named the literary tradition of medieval settings, terror, and mystery.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary