English
goth
Goth may come from Late Latin gothicus ‘Gothic, barbaric’.
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEgothicus‘Gothic, barbaric’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1786goth
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEgothicus‘Gothic, barbaric’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1786goth
Earliest quotation: 1786, Compendium of Entertaining Knowledge: “At Madras we arriv’d in the height of confuſion,…”
first attested From gothic rock, first used by John Stickney in reference to The Doors in 1967 and used by the late 1970s to describe the musical scene that gave rise to the goth subculture, both from a supposed aesthetic similarity to dark and moody 19th century gothic fiction and earlier gothic art and architecture, 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) (as stated in the etymology)
The story
From gothic rock, first used by John Stickney in reference to The Doors in 1967 and used by the late 1970s to describe the musical scene that gave rise to the goth subculture, both from a supposed aesthetic similarity to dark and moody 19th century gothic fiction and earlier gothic art and architecture, 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).
Every English word from Late Latin gothicus
Today it means
noun A punk-derived subculture of people who predominantly dress in black, associated with mournful music and attitudes.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Late Latin gothicus / goth