Gothic

Gothic [gäth′ik]

adj.

[LL Gothicus: see GOTH¹]

1. of the Goths or their language or culture

2. designating, of, or related to a style of architecture developed in W Europe between the 12th and 16th cent. and characterized by the use of ribbed vaulting, flying buttresses, pointed arches, steep, high roofs, etc.

3. [sometimes g-]

a) medieval

b) not classical

c) barbarous; uncivilized

4. [sometimes g-] of or having to do with a type of fiction orig. and esp. of the late 18th and early 19th cent. using remote (and, orig., medieval) settings and a sinister, eerie atmosphere to suggest horror and mystery

5. [also g-] designating or of a type of ROMANCE (n. 3) set typically in the 18th or 19th cent. and relating the melodramatic adventures of the heroine

n.

1. the East Germanic language of the Goths: it is known chiefly from the Bible translations of Bishop ULFILAS

2. Gothic style, esp. in architecture

3. Printing

☆ a) [often g-] a style of sans-serif type

b) a heavy, ornate style of type, now used especially in calligraphy

Gothically

adv.

Gothicness

n.