Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
neo-Gothic

neo-Gothic

8.9
A style of building that copies medieval church features like pointed arches and tall spires
  • adjective
  • /ˌniːoʊˈɡɒθɪk/
translation icon : neogótico
  • The neo-Gothic cathedral features pointed arches and intricate stone work characteristic of its architectural style.

Examples

  • He arrived in a city characterized by its skyscrapers, of which the newest and tallest was the neo-Gothic tower of the Woolworth Building.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Once I arrived at the school, a prestigious, neo-Gothic, Oxford knockoff, I discovered that this sort of career planning was not unusual.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Yet the aesthetic is this neo Gothic aesthetic, the Gothic revival aesthetic.

  • Visitors are often amazed by the neo-Gothic details on the buildings that line the historic district.

  • Walking through the city, I admired the neo-Gothic design of the library, which resembles ancient European churches.

Surface Forms

neo-Gothic positive

Morphology

neo-Gothic = Gothic (transparent) = neo + Gothic

Formed by the productive combining prefix 'neo' (new/revived) plus 'Gothic', so the sense 'a new or revived Gothic style' is directly inferable.

Etymology

The word neo-Gothic joins neo- meaning 'new' and Gothic, the style of buildings from the Middle Ages. So it means a 'new Gothic' style, which is why neo-Gothic describes 19th-century buildings that bring back pointed arches, tall spires, and very decorated stonework.