Etymograph

English

Gothic

Gothic comes from Late Latin gothicus ‘Gothic, barbaric’, and goes back to Ancient Greek Γότθοι ‘Goths’.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEΓότθοιGótthoi‘Goths’
  2. Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEΓοτθικόςGotthikós
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEgothicus‘Gothic, barbaric’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1782Gothic

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history not traced here.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEΓότθοιGótthoi‘Goths’
  2. Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEΓοτθικόςGotthikós
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEgothicus‘Gothic, barbaric’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1782Gothic

Earliest quotation: 1782, Frances Burney, Cecilia: “[W]hat he holds of all things to be most…”

Formed from Goth + -ic

Proto-Germanic *gutô ‘a Goth’

Old English Gotan

Middle English Gothes

English Goth

The story

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.

Every English word from Ancient Greek Γότθοι

Today it means

name An extinct Germanic language, once spoken by the Goths.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Ancient Greek Γότθοι / Gothic

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