gothic
/ˈɡɒθ.ɪk//ˈɡɑ.θɪk/
gothic is the alternative letter-case form of Gothic.
Proper noun capitalized: Gothic
Gothic
Adjective capitalized: Gothic
Gothic (comparative more Gothic, superlative most Gothic)
- 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.”1782, Frances Burney, Cecilia, II.iii.6
- Enormities which gleam like comets through the darkness of gothic and superstitious ages.1812 letter, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Prose Works, volume II, quoted in OED, published 1888, page 384
- Synonyms:
- barbarous, medieval, rude, unpolished, animalistic, barbarian, barbaric, barbarious, brutal, brutish
- Antonyms:
- classical
- 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
- Or does the L.C.C. [London County Council] dislike nineteenth century Gothic?1944 January and February, C. F. Cobon, “The County of London Plan”, in Railway Magazine, page 24
- 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
- Shelley's two early novels Zastrozzi and St. Irvyne are, as many scholars have noted, obviously connected to the tradition of the Gothic novel; as well, two volumes of early poetry contain Gothic elements and his tragedy The Cenci has been […]1975, John V. Murphy, The Dark Angel: Gothic Elements in Shelley's Works, Bucknell University Press, →ISBN, page 9
- Synonyms:
- Gothish
- Synonym of black letter.
- Gothic letters
- Synonyms:
- black letter
- 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
- Gothic dress
- Synonyms:
- goth
Noun capitalized: Gothic
Gothic (plural Gothics)
- A novel written in the Gothic style.
- One hundred fifty Gothics sold over 1.5 million copies a month last spring.1996, Nora Sayre, Sixties going on seventies, page 180
Synonyms of gothic
21 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
Forms of gothic
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more gothic |
| superlative | most gothic |
| comparative | more Gothic |
| superlative | most Gothic |
| Proper noun | |
| alternative form | gothic |
| alternative form | goffick |
| alternative form (obsolete) | Gothick |
| Noun | |
| plural | Gothics |
Origin of gothic
From goth + -ic, see Gothic.
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 typography.
Words formed from gothic
Phrases with gothic
Words that rhyme with gothic
Questions about gothic
- What does gothic mean?
- Gothic means an extinct Germanic language, once spoken by the Goths.
- What is gothic the alternative letter-case form of?
- Gothic is the alternative letter-case form of Gothic.
- What part of speech is gothic?
- Gothic can be a proper noun, an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce gothic?
- Gothic is pronounced /ˈɡɒθ.ɪk/ (UK).
Words near gothic in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: gothic (page history and authors); Gothic (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Gothic.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-gothic.wav.
Cite this entry: “gothic.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/gothic. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.