Goth
/ɡɒθ/noun
A member of the ancient East Germanic people who played a major role in late Roman history; also, a modern subculture associated with dark aesthetics.
Did you know?The name of the Goths was later reused in the Renaissance as a slur for “barbaric” medieval art, and that insult eventually helped inspire the modern “gothic” aesthetic.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
Γότθοι (Gótthoi)
“The Goths, an East Germanic people known to the Romans and Greeks”
Late Latin
Latin
Gothi
“The Goths”
Old English
English
Gōþas
“The Goths”
Middle English
English
Goth
“A Goth; later, a person associated with the Gothic style or subculture”
18th–20th Century
English
gothic / goth
“First a term for medieval architecture and literature, then a modern dark subculture”