Gothicadj.n.
/ˈɡɒθɪk/, U.S. /ˈɡɑθɪk/ A. adj.† 2. Formerly used in extended sense, now expressed by Teutonic adj. and n. or Germanic adj.1 and n.absolute.1685 J. Dryden Albion & Albanius Pref. sig. (b) This Language [Italian] has in a manner been refin'd and purified from the Gothick, ever since the time of Dante.
1.
a. Of, pertaining to, or concerned with the Goths or their language.
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the world > people > ethnicities > Germanic people > ancient Germanic peoples > [adjective] > Goths
Gothish1605
Gothic1611
Ostrogothian1684
Moeso-Gothic1735
Visigothic1788
Ostrogothic1815
Ostrogoth1915
the mind > language > languages of the world > Indo-Hittite > [adjective] > Indo-European > Germanic > Gothic
Gothic1611
Moeso-Gothic1735
East Germanic1852
1611 M. Smith in Bible (King James) Transl. Pref. 5 Vlpilas is reported..to haue translated the Scriptures into the Gothicke tongue.
1776 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall I. x. 244 Cassiodorus gratified the inclination of the conquerors in a Gothic history.
1845 J. Stoddart Gram. in Encycl. Metrop. 192/1 The Gothic substantive leik, body.
1892 Wright (title) A Primer of the Gothic Language.
b. = Mozarabic adj.
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society > faith > sect > Christianity > person > [adjective] > in Muslim Spain
Mozarabical1575
Mozarabic1619
Gothic1867
1867 tr. P. Guéranger's Life St. Cecilia xviii. 164 The Gothic Church of Spain, whose Liturgy was compiled by St. Leander, Archbishop of Seville.
1874 Month Feb. 223 The old Gothic or Mozarabic rite.
1911 E. B. O'Reilly Heroic Spain 235 The Christians who were under Moorish rule..kept to the old Gothic ritual.
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the world > people > ethnicities > Germanic people > [adjective]
Teutonic1619
Gothic1647
Germanic1687
pan-Germanic1850
pan-German1862
pan-Teutonic1863
pan-Gothic1879
Gothonic1912
1647 N. Bacon Hist. Disc. Govt. 96 Nor can any Nation upon earth shew so much of the ancient Gothique law as this Island hath.
1691 G. Etherege Let. to E. of M. in Hist. Adolphus 72 A Taudry ill-bred Rump; Whose brawny Limbs, and martial Face Proclaim her of the Gothick Race.
1721 J. Swift Let. to Pope 10 Jan. in Lett. Dr. Swift (1741) 18 As to Parliaments, I adored the wisdom of that Gothic Institution, which made them Annual.
1735 Visct. Bolingbroke Diss. upon Parties (ed. 2) 102 Maintaining the Freedom of our Gothick Institution of Government.
1832 F. Palgrave Rise & Progr. Eng. Commonw. I. 500 There is no Gothic feudality unless the parties be connected by the mutual bond of Vassalage and Seigniory.
1837 J. R. McCulloch Statist. Acct. Brit. Empire I. ii. 400 The Gothic blood would seem to have been preserved pretty pure in all the country to the north and east of the Severn and the Exe.
1857 F. D. Maurice Epist. St. John xx. 336 He raised up the Gothic or Teutonic race.
3. † a. Belonging to, or characteristic of, the Middle Ages; medieval, ‘romantic’, as opposed to classical. In early use chiefly with reprobation: Belonging to the ‘dark ages’ (cf. sense A. 4). Obsolete. [Compare French les siècles gothiques.]
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the world > time > relative time > the past > historical period > [adjective] > of the Middle Ages
middle-aged1611
Gothic1695
middle age1753
medieval1817
mid-eval1840
1695 [see sense A. 4].
1710 Ld. Shaftesbury Soliloquy 65 [The Elizabethan dramatists] have withal been the first of Europeans, who since the Gothick Model of Poetry, attempted to throw off the horrid Discord of jingling Rhyme.
1762 R. Hurd Lett. Chivalry & Romance vii. 56 He [sc. Spenser] could have planned, no doubt, an heroic design on the exact classic model: Or, he might have trimmed between the Gothic and Classic, as his contemporary Tasso did... Under this idea then of a Gothic, not classical poem, the Faery Queen is to be read and criticized.
1765 H. Walpole (title) The Castle of Otranto, a Gothic Story.
1765 H. Walpole Let. to Cole 9 Mar. A very natural dream for a head filled like mine with gothic story.
1771 J. Beattie Minstrel: Bk. 1st xiii. 7 There lived in Gothic days, as legends tell, A shepherd-swain.
1771 J. Beattie Minstrel: Bk. 1st lxii. 32 Here pause, my Gothic lyre, a little while.
1773 S. Johnson Let. 21 Sept. (1992) II. 71 A Castle in Gothick romances.
1782 W. Cowper Table Talk in Poems 564 He sunk in Greece, in Italy he rose, And, tedious years of Gothic darkness past, Emerged all splendour in our isle at last.
b. A term for the style of architecture prevalent in Western Europe from the twelfth to the sixteenth century, of which the chief characteristic is the pointed arch. Applied also to buildings, architectural details, and ornamentation. (Also transferred of the wing of an aeroplane).The most usual names for the successive periods of this style in England are Early English (or First Pointed), Decorated, and Perpendicular.Our quotations seem to show that the term was taken in the first instance from the French, and employed to denote any style of building that was not classical (Greek or Roman), but used by many writers as if derived immediately from sense A. 2.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > style of architecture > [adjective] > Gothic
pointed1640
Gothish1655
Gothicc1660
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > parts of aircraft > [adjective] > types of wing
flappinga1857
cambered1909
swept-back1914
slotted1921
crustacean1928
cranked1939
unswept1946
variable sweep1954
Gothic1959
ogival1962
c1660 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1641 (1955) II. 50 Harlem..hath one of the fairest Churches of the Gotique designe, I had ever seene.
1664 A. Wood Descr. Bampton Castle in Life & Times (1892) II. Pl. 1 The cheife gate-house where is a ruined entrance, [and] an old gothick window over it.
1713 C. Wren in Parentalia (1750) 297 This we now call the Gothick Manner of Architecture (so the Italians called what was not after the Roman style).
1739 C. Labelye Short Acct. Piers Westm. Bridge 44 Narrow Gothic Arches, supported by monstrous Piers.
1742 B. Langley Anc. Archit. Restored Dissert. i Every ancient Building which is not in the Grecian Mode is called a Gothic Building.
1750 S. Wren in Parentalia 273 They had not yet fallen into the Gothick pointed-arch.
1783 Crit. Rev. Public Buildings London (new ed.) [The tower of St. Michael's, Cornhill, is] in the Gothic style of architecture.
1801 Telford & Douglas Acc. Improvem. Port London 17 The whole external form of the bridge is to be composed of Gothic tracery.
a1839 W. M. Praed Poems (1864) I. 69 Some time-honoured Gothic pile.
1880 M. E. Braddon Just as I Am vii The cosy chair beside the Gothic fire~place.
1881 Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers 1880–1 9 142 Gothic groove, a groove of Gothic arch section in a roll.
1959 J. L. Nayler Dict. Aeronaut. Engin. 121 Gothic wing, a wing whose plan form is like a Gothic window.
1961 Flight 80 966/2 The Super Caravelle wing is of gothic delta plan form with considerable leading edge camber.
c. Concerned with Gothic buildings.Apparently an isolated use.
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1875 J. Ruskin Mornings in Florence II. 48 Our Gothic Firms now manufacture to order, a Madonna.
d. Gothic Revival n. the reintroduction of a Gothic style of architecture towards the middle of the 19th cent. Also attributive. So Gothic Revivalist.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > style of architecture > [noun] > Gothic > Gothic revival
revival1806
churchwarden1821
American Gothic1836
Strawberry Hill1836
Gothic1841
Puginesquery1848
Gothic Revival1869
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > style of architecture > [noun] > Gothic > Gothic revival > adherent of
Gothic Revivalist1950
1869 C. L. Eastlake Hints Househ. Taste (ed. 2) i. 32 The earliest promoters of the Gothic revival appreciated the superficial effect of such features... The glories of the ‘fretted vault’ were not unfrequently imitated in lath and plaster.
1934 A. Huxley Beyond Mexique Bay 114 The Gothic revival in England was a product of the Oxford Movement.
1950 Oxoniensia 15 118 Jackson witnessed the evolution of the Gothic Revival.
1950 Oxoniensia 15 118 They, the Gothic Revivalists, had got the old dead style on its legs and propped it up, but they could not make it walk.
1958 R. Liddell Morea iii. ii. 243 A Gothic revival school building was a relic of the British protectorate.
1963 H. Read Contrary Experience iii. ix. 276 The Gothic Revival was almost a spent force when Ruskin began to publish The Stones of Venice in 1851.
4. Barbarous, rude, uncouth, unpolished, in bad taste. Of temper: Savage.
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the mind > attention and judgement > bad taste > [adjective] > Philistine
unseasoned1598
Gothish1602
Gothic1695
Vandal1752
beauty-proof1753
bourgeois1764
Philistine1831
palateless1860
philistinic1869
Philistinish1871
Babbitty1925
the mind > emotion > anger > furious anger > [adjective]
reighOE
grima1000
vehementa1492
vehement1548
teeth-grinding1642
sulphury1657
tearing1692
Gothic1695
teeth-gnashinga1711
storming1905
1695 J. Dryden tr. R. de Piles in tr. C. A. Du Fresnoy De Arte Graphica 93 All that has nothing of the Ancient gust, is call'd a barbarous or Gothique manner.
1710 Ld. Shaftesbury Soliloquy 116 We are not altogether so barbarous or Gothick as they pretend.
a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1734) II. 394 His [sc. Chas. XII] Temper grew daily more fierce and Gothick.
1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron I. v. xiii. 289 This Gothic Crime of Duelling.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones III. vii. iii. 22 ‘O more than Gothic Ignorance,’ answered the lady. View more context for this quotation
1782 F. Burney Cecilia II. iv. vi. 191 What he holds of all things to be most gothic, is gallantry to the women.
1812 P. B. Shelley Lett. in Prose Wks. (1888) II. 384 Enormities which gleam like comets through the darkness of gothic and superstitious ages.
1833 T. Chalmers On Power, Wisdom, & Goodness of God II. ii. i. 170 Such a gothic spoliation as this.
1841 J. T. J. Hewlett Parish Clerk I. 111 Dinner, which was eaten at the gothic hour of one o'clock.
5. Writing and Printing.† a. Used for some kind of written character (? resembling black letter).
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society > communication > writing > handwriting or style of > [adjective] > others
bastard1524
secretary1571
Gothical1612
Gothicc1660
Longobardic1677
Lombardic1697
Langobardic1724
longhand1729
rustic1768
Lombard1833
Carlovingian1853
mogigraphic1857
Carolingian1881
Beneventan1882
hand-printed1882
insular1908
script1920
c1660 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1644 (1955) II. 123 Some English words graven in Gotic Characters.
a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1658 (1955) III. 206 He could perfectly reade any of the English, Latine, french or Gottic letters.
b. In England, the name of the type commonly used for printing German, as distinguished from roman and italic characters. (Formerly, and still in non-technical use, equivalent to black letter.)
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society > communication > printing > types, blocks, or plates > relating to type > style of type > [adjective] > black letter or Gothic
black letter1763
Gothic1781
secretarial1864
1781 T. Warton Hist. Eng. Poetry III. Diss. iii. sig. a2v This edition..is in the Gothic letter.
1824 J. Johnson Typographia II. i. 10 Black Letter. This letter, which is used in England, descended from the Gothic characters: it is called Gothic, by some; and Old English, by others.
1888 C. T. Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 54 Gothic, an antique character of type similar to black letter.
1895 W. A. Copinger in Trans. Bibl. Soc. 2 ii. 111 Gothic type was the first in use..Roman character not being introduced till 1467.
Categories »
c. Applied in the U.S. to the type called in England grotesque n. and adj. (also sans-ceriph, and, by some type-founders, doric; formerly stone letter).
6. In combination with an adjective formed on a proper name: Gothic and; Gothic in connection with; as Gothic-Finnish, Gothic-Sarmatian, Gothic-Scandinavian.
ΚΠ
1928 C. Dawson Age of Gods iv. 84 The Gothic-Sarmatian kingdom from the Crimea to the lower Danube.
1931 A. Senn in Jrnl. Eng. & Germanic Philol. 30 143 (title) A contribution to Gothic-Finnish relations.
1965 Language 41 36 The theory of a Gothic-Scandinavian linguistic community distinct from the West Germanic languages.
B. n. That which is Gothic.
a. The Gothic language.
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the mind > language > languages of the world > Indo-Hittite > [noun] > Indo-European > Germanic > Gothic
Moeso-Gothic1735
Gothic1757
Crimean Gothic1858
Rugian1934
1757 Serenius Eng. & Swed. Dict. (ed. 2) Pref. 2 There are very few that have professedly treated the ancient Gothick.
1867 F. M. Müller Chips from German Workshop II. xx. 189 Gothic, as a language, is more ancient than Icelandic.
b. A Gothic building.
ΚΠ
1825 J. G. Lockhart in W. Scott Familiar Lett. (1894) II. 308 Then to..the Castle Chapel—the best by far of all modern Gothics.
1915 Irish Eccl. Record July 50 Some of these new Gothics were designed by a priest.
1916 Irish Eccl. Record Sept. 209 The fine old walls..gave place to the Gothics.
c. Gothic architecture or ornamentation.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > style of architecture > [noun] > Gothic
Gothicc1660
Gothicism1754
Gothicness1853
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > style of architecture > [noun] > Gothic > Gothic revival
revival1806
churchwarden1821
American Gothic1836
Strawberry Hill1836
Gothic1841
Puginesquery1848
Gothic Revival1869
c1660 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1644 (1955) II. 111 The style of the magnificence then in fashion, which was with to<o> greate a mixture of the Gotic.
1726 G. Leoni tr. L. B. Alberti Archit. Life 4 Ornaments, which..have I know not what in them of Gothick.
1762 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting I. v. 109 Imitations of the Gothic.
1762 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting I. v. 112 The builders of Gothic.
1841 C. J. Lever Charles O'Malley lxxxii. 395 Gazing steadfastly on the fretted gothic of the ceiling.
Derivatives
Goˈthicity n. the quality of being Gothic.
ΚΠ
1863 Ecclesiologist XXIV. 290 The absolute Gothicity of the general idea.
1889 Athenæum 16 Feb. 221/1 The crisp, sharp, and firm ‘Gothicity’ of the direct followers of the Van Eycks.
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the mind > attention and judgement > bad taste > [adverb] > philistinely
Gothicly1777
barbarically1832
philistinely1881
1777 W. Dalrymple Trav. Spain & Portugal xl The apartments are low..and Gothicly furnished.
ˈGothicky adj. colloquial Gothic-like.
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1893 K. D. Wiggin Cathedral Courtship 36 She's going to build a Gothicky memorial chapel somewhere.
Draft additions 1993
Of or pertaining to goth music or its followers: see Goth n. 3.
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society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > pop music > [adjective] > qualities of pop
metal?1518
anthemic1890
Afro-Latin-American1900
sun-kissed1907
heavy1937
Latin American1937
Memphis1938
sun-drenched1943
indie1945
rockish1955
hardcore1957
doo-wop1958
middle of the road1959
Latin1962
straight-ahead1964
easy listening1965
Motown1965
funky1967
post-rock1967
rocky1967
rock-out1968
funkadelic1969
funked out1970
grungy1971
punk1971
grunge1972
Philly1972
dub1973
drum and bass1975
disco funky1976
punkish1976
reggaefied1976
Britpop1977
post-punk1977
anarcho-punk1979
rap1980
trash rock1980
crunchy1981
industrial1981
New Romantic1981
rockist1981
garage1982
hip-hop1982
thrashy1982
urban1982
Gothic1983
hip-hopping1983
beat-box1984
lo-fi1986
technoid1986
hip-house1987
acid house1988
new jack1988
old school1988
techno1988
baggy1990
banging1990
gangsta1990
filthy1991
handbaggy1991
nu skool1991
sampladelic1991
junglist1993
1981 Melody Maker 4 July 9/6 Bauhaus are forced to rely on pure theatricality to further their reputation as Gothic-horror outlaw weirdos.]
1983 New Musical Express 24 Dec. 7/3 Why is this gothic glam so popular?
1986 Q Oct. 74/2 Love & Rockets used to be three quarters of Bauhaus..and are obviously finding life as gothic has-beens hard going.
1988 Sunday Tel. 6 Mar. 21/7 ‘The Gothic people will be pleased that black is still in,’ remarked Miss Fackrell, who teaches hair and beauty studies. Gothic people? They are all the young folk who go around wearing black, apparently.
Draft additions December 2007
Of or designating a genre of fiction characterized by suspenseful, sensational plots involving supernatural or macabre elements and often (esp. in early use) having a medieval theme or setting.The novel typically regarded as the first of this genre, The Castle of Otranto (1765) by Horace Walpole, is subtitled ‘a Gothic story’ (cf. 17651 at sense A. 3a) in reference to its medieval setting; in this and similar early uses it is often difficult to distinguish between this sense and sense A. 3a.
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society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > novel > [adjective] > types of novel
picaresque1822
Gothic1825
Minerva press1843
yellow1843
western1846
bluggy1876
cape and sword (also cape and cloak)1898
Mills & Boon1912
straight1936
blockbusting1943
Mills and Boony1946
private eye1946
police procedural1957
thrillerish1957
porno-Gothic1968
romantic1977
neo-noir1986
bonkbusting1993
1825 W. Scott Lives Novelists I. 139 To this improvement upon the gothic romance there are so many objections, that we own ourselves inclined to prefer..the narrative of Walpole.
1853 G. S. Hillard Six Months in Italy (1854) II. x. 233 The shapes and conceptions of Gothic fiction—the sheeted ghost gliding from the churchyard..—the groan mingling with the wind that sweeps through the aisles of a ruined chapel.
1889 E. Gosse Hist. 18th. Cent. Lit. ix. 301 This Gothic novel positively frightened grown-up people to the extent of making them unwilling to seek their beds.
1928 Cent. Mag. May 61/2 The evolution of the dime novel from the sixteenth century novella through the Gothic horror story of Monk Lewis or Mrs. Radcliffe.
1990 R. Critchfield Among British iv. 259 Britain is still supreme in the spy thriller, the detective story, the bestselling Gothic novel, and the bodice-ripper romance.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1611