Gothic

How to spell gothic

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce gothic

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does gothic mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to a medieval style of architecture marked by pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and tall narrow windows, or to the dark, ornate aesthetic derived from it.
2. adjectiveBelonging to a genre of fiction characterised by gloomy settings, mystery, and an atmosphere of horror or dread.
3. adjectiveDescribing a heavy, angular blackletter style of lettering, or in some traditions a plain sans-serif typeface.

Gothic in a sentence

• The cathedral is a famous example of gothic architecture, with its soaring pointed arches.

• The novel is a classic gothic tale set in a crumbling country house full of secrets.

• The certificate was printed in an ornate gothic script that looked almost medieval.

• She decorated the hallway in a gothic style, all dark wood and wrought iron.

• Her thesis examined the role of haunted ruins in gothic literature.

• The newspaper masthead still uses a heavy gothic font for its title.

Where does gothic come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Late Latin Gothicus, meaning 'relating to the Goths', the Germanic people whose name appears in Latin as Gothi and in Greek as Gothoi. The Goths sacked Rome and loomed large in the European imagination as fierce outsiders, so when Renaissance writers wanted to dismiss the pointed-arch architecture of the Middle Ages as crude and barbaric, they sneeringly called it 'Gothic', even though the actual Goths had nothing to do with building it. English adopted the term in the late 1500s, first as a label for this medieval architectural style, and over time the insult faded into a neutral, even admiring description. In the 1700s the word attached itself to a brooding genre of fiction set in gloomy castles, and much later it named the heavy, angular blackletter typefaces and, eventually, a moody subculture. The spelling keeps the 'th' from the people's name, so remembering the Goths helps you avoid the tempting but wrong 'gothik' or 'gothick'.

How the word is built

• goth- (from the Goths, a Germanic people)
• -ic (adjective suffix: relating to)