Visigoth
/ˈvɪzɪˌɡɒθ/noun
A member of the western branch of the Goths, a Germanic people who played a major role in the late Roman Empire.
Did you know?The label *Visigoth* was not originally a grand tribal self-name in the modern sense; it was a later scholarly contrast to *Ostrogoth* and reflects how medieval and early modern writers sorted Gothic history into “west” and “east.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*Gutōz
“the Goths, an East Germanic people”
Late Latin
Latin
Visigothi
“the western Goths”
6th Century
Latin
Visigothae
“a Latinized historical designation for the western Gothic people”
Old French
OF
Visigoth
“Visigoth, a Gothic people of Spain and Gaul”
Modern English
English
Visigoth
“a member of the western branch of the Goths”