Gothic

American  

[goth-ik] / ˈgɒθ ɪk /

adjective

1. noting or pertaining to a style of architecture, originating in France in the middle of the 12th century and existing in the western half of Europe through the middle of the 16th century, characterized by the use of the pointed arch and the ribbed vault, by the use of fine woodwork and stonework, by a progressive lightening of structure, and by the use of such features as flying buttresses, ornamental gables, crockets, and foils.

2. pertaining to or designating the style of painting, sculpture, etc., produced between the 13th and 15th centuries, especially in northern Europe, characterized by a tendency toward realism and interest in detail.

3. of or relating to Goths or their language.

4. of or relating to the music, especially of northern Europe, of the period roughly from 1200 to 1450, including that of the Ars Antiqua, Ars Nova, and the Burgundian school.

5. pertaining to the Middle Ages; medieval.

6. (sometimes lowercase) noting or pertaining to a style of literature characterized by a gloomy setting, grotesque, mysterious, or violent events, and an atmosphere of degeneration and decay.

   19th-century Gothic novels.

7. (often lowercase) being of a genre of contemporary fiction typically relating the experiences of an often ingenuous heroine imperiled, as at an old mansion, where she typically becomes involved with a stern or mysterious but attractive man.

8. of or relating to the goth subculture or musical scene.

9. noting or pertaining to the alphabetic script introduced for the writing of Gothic by Ulfilas and derived by him from Greek uncials with the addition of some Latin and some invented letters.

10. (usually lowercase) barbarous or crude.

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noun

1. the arts and crafts of the Gothic period.

2. the extinct Germanic language of the Goths, preserved especially in the 4th-century translation by Ulfilas of the Bible. Goth, Goth.

3. (often lowercase) a story, play, film, or other work in the gothic style.

4. (sometimes lowercase) black letter.

5. (sometimes lowercase) a square-cut printing type without serifs or hairlines.

Gothic British  

/ ˈɡɒθɪk /

adjective

1. denoting, relating to, or resembling the style of architecture that was used in W Europe from the 12th to the 16th centuries, characterized by the lancet arch, the ribbed vault, and the flying buttress See also Gothic Revival

2. of or relating to the style of sculpture, painting, or other arts as practised in W Europe from the 12th to the 16th centuries

3. When used of modern literature, films, etc, sometimes spelt: Gothick.  (sometimes not capital) of or relating to a literary style characterized by gloom, the grotesque, and the supernatural, popular esp in the late 18th century

4. of, relating to, or characteristic of the Goths or their language

5. (sometimes not capital) primitive and barbarous in style, behaviour, etc

6. of or relating to the Middle Ages

7. another word for Goth

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noun

1. Gothic architecture or art

2. the extinct language of the ancient Goths, known mainly from fragments of a translation of the Bible made in the 4th century by Bishop Wulfila See also East Germanic

3. Also called (esp Brit): black letter.  the family of heavy script typefaces

4. another word for Goth

Gothic Cultural  

1. In European architecture, the dominant style during the late Middle Ages, characterized by slender towers, pointed arch es, soaring ceilings, and flying buttress es. Many great cathedrals (see also cathedral), including Chartres and Notre Dame de Paris, were built in this style.

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Other Word Forms

• Gothically adverb
• Gothicity noun
• Gothicness noun
• non-Gothic adjective
• post-Gothic adjective
• pre-Gothic adjective
• pseudo-Gothic adjective
• unGothic adjective

Etymology

Origin of Gothic

First recorded in 1605–15; from Late Latin Gothicus “of, pertaining to the Goths”; Goth, -ic

Example Sentences

The figures’ long, elegant fingers are a distinctive feature of Bohemian Gothic art, as are the tight blond curls framing the round faces of Mary, Jesus and the angel.

From The Wall Street Journal

Gothic choruses! – and dials them up to 11.

From BBC

He’s like a Gothic hero, a Gothic superhero.

From Los Angeles Times

Lawrence while Aunt Ada Doom injects a Gothic touch with her half-mad stare and ravings about “something nasty in the woodshed.”

From The Wall Street Journal

The fire gave the world a lesson in Gothic construction.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• eerie
• grotesque