gothic: Meaning and Definition of

goth•ic

1. (usually cap.) noting or pertaining to a style of architecture, originating in France in the middle of the 12th century and existing in the western half of Europe through the middle of the 16th century, characterized by the use of the pointed arch and the ribbed vault, by the use of fine woodwork and stonework, by a progressive lightening of structure, and by the use of such features as flying buttresses, ornamental gables, crockets, and foils.
2. (usually cap.) pertaining to or designating the style of painting, sculpture, etc., produced between the 13th and 15th centuries, esp. in northern Europe, characterized by a tendency toward realism and interest in detail.
3. (cap.) of or pertaining to Goths or their language.
4. (usually cap.) of or pertaining to the music, esp. of northern Europe, of the period roughly from 1200 to 1450, including that of the Ars Antiqua, Ars Nova, and the Burgundian school.
5. (usually cap.) pertaining to the Middle Ages; medieval.
6. (sometimes cap.) barbarous or crude.
7. (often cap.) noting or pertaining to a style of literature characterized by a gloomy setting, grotesque, mysterious, or violent events, and an atmosphere of degeneration and decay: 19th-century gothic novels.
8. (cap.) noting or pertaining to the alphabetical script introduced for the writing of Gothic by Ulfilas and derived by him from Greek uncials with the addition of some Latin and some invented letters.
9. (often cap.) being of a genre of contemporary fiction typically relating the experiences of an often ingenuous heroine imperiled, as at an old mansion, where she typically becomes involved with a stern or mysterious but attractive man.

1. (usually cap.) the arts and crafts of the Gothic period.
2. (cap.) the extinct Germanic language of the Goths, preserved esp. in the 4th-century translation by Ulfilas of the Bible. Abbr.: Goth, Goth., goth.
3. (often cap.) a story, play, film, or other work in the gothic style.
4. (usually cap.)See
5. (often cap.) a square-cut printing type without serifs or hairlines.