What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Gothic vs Steampunk - What's the difference?

gothic | steampunk |

As an adjective gothic

is (gothic).

As a noun steampunk is

(uncountable|neologism) a subgenre of speculative science fiction set in an anachronistic 19th century society.

As a verb steampunk is

to depict in a steampunk manner.

gothic

English

(Gothic language)

Alternative forms

* Gothick (obsolete)

Proper noun

(en proper noun)
  • an extinct Germanic language, once spoken by the Goths
  • Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • of or relating to the Goths.
  • barbarous, rude, unpolished, belonging to the "Dark Ages", medieval as opposed to classical.
  • "Enormities which gleam like comets through the darkness of gothic and superstitious ages." (Percy Bysshe Shelley in a 1812 letter, Prose Works (1888) II.384, cited after OED)
  • of or relating to the architectural style favored in western Europe in the 12th to 16th centuries.
  • of or relating to the style of fictional writing associated with the Gothic revival, emphasizing violent or macabre events in a mysterious, desolate setting.
  • (typography) in England, of the name of type formerly used to print German, also known as black letter .
  • (typography) in the USA, of a sans serif typeface using straight, even-width lines, also called grotesque
  • of or relating to the goth subculture or lifestyle.
  • Why is this gothic glam so popular? (New Musical Express 24 December 1983, cited after OED)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A novel written in the Gothic style.
  • * 1996 , Nora Sayre, Sixties going on seventies (page 180)
  • One hundred fifty Gothics sold over 1.5 million copies a month last spring.

    Derived terms

    * goth * Goth * gothic * neogothic * Mesogothic * Moesogothic * Suio-Gothic * Visigothic

    See also

    * (got)

    steampunk

    Noun

  • (uncountable, neologism) A subgenre of speculative science fiction set in an anachronistic 19th century society.
  • * {{quote-magazine
  • , year = 1987 , month = April , magazine = Locus , section = Locus Letters , first = Kevin Wayne , last = Jeter , authorlink = K. W. Jeter , volume = 20 , issue = 4 (
  • 315 overall)
  • , page = 57 , passage = as long as we can come up with a fitting collective term for Powers, Blaylock and myself. Something based on the appropriate technology of the era; like 'steam-punks', perhaps... }}
  • * {{quote-magazine
  • , year = 1987 , month = May , magazine = Locus , section = , first = James , last = Blaylock , authorlink= James Blaylock , volume = 20 , issue = 5 (
  • 316 overall)
  • , page = 57 , passage = There's railroad trains, a lot of steam-driven stuff, but that's about it. More ‘steam punk’, I suppose. }}
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year = 2008 , date = May 8 , author = Ruth La Ferla , title = Steampunk Moves Between 2 Worlds , work = New York Times , url = http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/08/fashion/08PUNK.html , passage = It is also the vision of steampunk , a subculture that is the aesthetic expression of a time-traveling fantasy world, one that embraces music, film, design and now fashion, all inspired by the extravagantly inventive age of dirigibles and steam locomotives, brass diving bells and jar-shaped protosubmarines. }}
  • (countable) A writer of steampunk fiction.
  • * {{quote-magazine
  • , year = 1987 , month = April , magazine = Locus , section = Locus Letters , author = Kevin Wayne Jeter , volume = , number = , page = 57 , passage = Personally, I think Victorian fantasies are going to be the next big thing, as long as we can come up with a fitting collective term for Powers, Blaylock and myself. Something based on the appropriate technology of the era; like 'steam-punks', perhaps. }}
  • (countable, cosplay) A person cosplaying as a steampunk character.
  • * {{quote-magazine
  • , year = 2009 , month = September , magazine = Exhibition Hall , url = http://efanzines.com/ExhibHall/ExhibHall-01.pdf , title = An Interview with Emmett and Klaude Davenport of the Clockwork Cabaret , author = Klaude Davenport , volume = , issue = 1 , page = 6 , passage = It wound up being an overwhelmingly positive experience that made me appreciate the steampunks around me even more. }}
  • * {{quote-usenet
  • , year = 2010 , monthday = September 24 , author = John Naylor , email = , title = Re: [Steam-Scholars] Hello again and a query , id = 45b85.6b512dc6.39cddc00@aol.com , group = steam-scholars , url = https://groups.google.com/d/msg/steam-scholars/bdMTIoChWyQ/pz5TAUpNxcYJ }}
    It is extremely rare that you speak to someone who says "I want to be an ...." This would suggest that for the vast majority of steampunks their choice of outfit (at least intitially) is less a conscious attempt at portrayal and more of a spontaneous and potentially subconscious growth of an idea.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To depict in a steampunk manner.
  • *
  • * {{quote-book
  • , year = 2012 , title = Llewellyn's 2013 Magical Almanac , section = Mechomancy: Steampunk Sensibilities in Pagan Traditions , author = Sybil Fogg , isbn = 9780738715155 , page = 90 , passage = There is also a strong draw on literature and film for ideas. Some steampunks will take a favorite character, such as Boba Fett, Alice, Dorothy, Professor Snape, or Sherlock Holmes, and "steampunk " him or her out by adding elements of leather (or faux leather), gears, clock parts, electricity, motors, and so on. }}

    References

    * * (genre) * (writer)