Goth

A Goth was a member of the Germanic peoples who invaded the Roman Empire from the east during the third through fifth centuries.

The Goths divided into Visigoths and Ostrogoths, eventually establishing kingdoms across former Roman territories.

Gothic later described medieval architecture with pointed arches and flying buttresses, then dark Romantic literature featuring haunted castles and supernatural dread—a lineage that eventually inspired the modern subculture. (Lowercase goth is the contemporary subculture.)