Gothic

Relating to the Goths; as, Gothic taste. -Rude; uncivilized; barbarous; ignorant; as, Gothic barbarism. Goth'ic Architecture. The name given to the style of architecture that was adopted by European nations generally during the med iæval ages. By some the term is confined to that form of architecture which is peculiarly characterized by the pointed arch, while others consider that the Romanesque architecture which is distinguished by the use of the rounded arch in every form, and from which the pointed style of architecture was gradually developed, should also be included under this appellation. Adopting the latter and more comprehensive view of the subject, we may, therefore, consider Gothic architecture to consist of two grand divisions the Romanesque , or round - arched Gothic (subdivided into Rhenish-Romanesque, Anglo-Saxon, and the Norman of France and England); and the Mediæval , or pointed Gothic (subdivided in England into Early English, Decorated English, and Perpendicular English, corresponding to the French Ogival Primital, Ogival Sec on daric, and Ogival Tertiam, or Flamboyant). See ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE, and MEDIEVAL ARCHITECTURE. Goth'icism, n. Rudene of manners; barbarism. -A Gothic idiom of speech. - Conformity to the Gothic style of architecture. Goth'icize, v. a. To make Gothic; to restore to a state of barbarism. Gothic Language. See GERMAN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE.