/ ˈgɒθɪk; NAmE ˈgɑːθ-/ adjective , noun
■ adjective
1.
connected with the Goths (= a Germanic people who fought against the Roman Empire)
2.
( architecture ) built in the style that was popular in western Europe from the 12th to the 16th centuries, and which has pointed arches and windows and tall thin pillars :
a Gothic church
3.
( of a novel, etc. ) written in the style popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, which described romantic adventures in mysterious or frightening surroundings
4.
( of type and printing ) having pointed letters with thick lines and sharp angles. German books used to be printed in this style.
5.
connected with goths
■ noun [ U ]
1.
the Gothic style of architecture
2.
Gothic printing type or printed letters
For more information see the Cultural Guide
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WORD ORIGIN
from French gothique or late Latin gothicus , from Gothi (plural), from Greek Gothoi , from Gothic Gutthiuda the Gothic people. It was used in the 17th and 18th cents to mean not classical (i.e. not Greek or Roman), and hence to refer to medieval architecture which did not follow classical models (sense 2) and a typeface based on medieval handwriting (sense 4).