goth

Etymology

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).

noun

1. (uncountable) A punk-derived subculture of people who predominantly dress in black, associated with mournful music and attitudes.
   I think that goth could flower in nerdcore's embrace. I converted Edward Gorey's lettering into a typeface, befriended vampires on LJ and MySpace, even put that spooky echo filter on the bass[…] 2005, “Goth Girls”, in MC Frontalot (music), Nerdcore Rising
   Philip has been into goth for many years, haven't you dear?
2. (uncountable, music) A style of punk rock influenced by glam rock; gothic rock.
3. (countable) A person who is part of the goth subculture.
   And how come you never see goths driving cars? We drive cars... We're just like you really, except that we listen to Cradle of Filth. 2006 Feb. 17, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, Season 1, Episode 4
   We saw a solitary goth hanging out on a ledge by the train station.

adj

1. Relating to goth music or people.
   With her black clothes and dyed hair, Melanie looked very goth compared to her classmates.
   One of them looked like a total freak who had come straight off a Cirque du Soleil stage, with blue streaks in her hair, goth bracelets up her arm and so much black eyeliner that she could be on the set of Cleopatra. 2014, Michelle Madow, The Secret Diamond Sisters, page 39