gothic means of or relating to the Goths or their language. It carries an Arena rating of 1484, earned across 2 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, gothic ranks #2,213 of 14,308 for Most Malleable Words, #2,309 of 14,431 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #2,328 of 14,438 for Most Storied Words, #2,364 of 14,297 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
gothic is pronounced /ˈɡɒθ.ɪk/.
Why “gothic” is a great word
Pertaining to a style of architecture prevalent from the 12th to 16th centuries, characterized by pointed arches and ribbed vaults, or to a literary genre of bleak, mysterious, and grotesque themes. From Late Latin *gothicus* ("Gothic, barbaric"), from Ancient Greek *Γοτθικός* (*Gotthikós*), from *Γότθοι* (*Gótthoi*, "Goths") + *-ικός* (*-ikós*, "-ic"); the architectural sense, initially pejorative, was established in English in the 1640s. Unlike the grounded, muscular solidity of "Romanesque" or the transcendent emotionalism of "Romantic," Gothic strains upward with stone even as it descends into psychological shadow. It is the skeletal tracery of a rose window fracturing light into colored gloom, the oppressive weight of an ancestral portrait's gaze in a crumbling manor, and the unmistakable sound of a footstep in a corridor you know to be empty—an aesthetic born from the insult of barbarism, refined into the exquisite vocabulary of dread.
Etymology
From Late Latin gothicus (“Gothic, barbaric”), from Ancient Greek Γοτθικός (Gotthikós), from Ancient Greek Γότθοι (Gótthoi, “Goths”) + -ικός (-ikós, “-ic”), proposed to derive from unattested Gothic *𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌰 (*guta). Equivalent to Goth + -ic. The various usages of the adjective are introduced nearly simultaneously in the first half of the 17th century. The literal meaning “of the Goths” is found in the 1611 preface of the King James Bible, in reference to the Gothicke tongue. The generalized meaning of “Germanic, Teutonic” appears in the 1640s. Reference to the medieval period in Western Europe, and specifically the architecture of that period (“barbaric style”, initially a term of abuse), also appears in the 1640s, as does reference to “Gothic characters” or “Gothic letters” in typograph
adj
- Of or relating to the Goths or their language.
- Barbarous, rude, unpolished, belonging to the “Dark Ages”, medieval as opposed to classical.““[W]hat he holds of all things to be most gothic, is gallantry to the women.””
- Of or relating to the architectural style favored in Western Europe in the 12th to 16th centuries, with high-pointed arches, clustered columns, etc.“Gothic arches”
- Of or relating to the style of fictional writing associated with Gothic fiction, emphasizing violent or macabre events in a mysterious, desolate setting.“Gothic tales”
- Synonym of black letter.“Gothic letters”
- Of a sans serif typeface using straight, even-width lines, also known as grotesque or lineal.
- Of or relating to the goth subculture, music or lifestyle.“Gothic rock”
name
- An extinct Germanic language, once spoken by the Goths.
- Certain moths of the family Noctuidae.
- A particular species of moth of the family Noctuidae, Naenia typica.
noun
- A novel written in the Gothic style.“One hundred fifty Gothics sold over 1.5 million copies a month last spring.”
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