grotesque

English

WOTD – 15 July 2008

Etymology

From Middle French grotesque (French grotesque), from Italian grottesco (“of a cave”), from grotta. Compare English grotto.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɹəʊˈtɛsk/
• IPA^(key): /ɡɹoʊˈtɛsk/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

Adjective

grotesque (comparative grotesquer, superlative grotesquest)

1. distorted and unnatural in shape or size; abnormal and hideous
2. disgusting or otherwise viscerally revolting.
3. (typography) sans serif.

Derived terms

• grody
• grotty
• guro, ero-guro

Translations

distorted and unnatural in shape or size; abnormal and hideous

• Arabic: غَرِيب (ar) (ḡarīb)
• Bulgarian: странен (bg) (stranen), уродлив (bg) (urodliv)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 怪模怪樣／怪模怪样 (zh) (guàimúguàiyàng), 怪模怪样 (zh) (guàimúguàiyàng)

• Crimean Tatar: acayip
• Danish: grotesk
• Dutch: grotesk (nl)
• Finnish: groteski (fi), irvokas (fi)
• French: grotesque (fr)
• Galician: grotesco m
• German: grotesk (de)
• Hebrew: גרוטסקה (he) (groteska)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: groteszk (hu)
• Italian: grottesco (it)
• Japanese: グロテスクな (gurotesuku-na), グロな (guro-na), グロい (guroi)
• Norwegian: grotesk
• Polish: groteskowy (pl)
• Portuguese: grotesco (pt)
• Romanian: grotesc (ro) m or n
• Russian: гроте́скный (ru) (grotésknyj)
• Spanish: grotesco (es)
• Swedish: grotesk (sv)
• Turkish: grotesk (tr), acayip (tr)

Noun

grotesque (countable and uncountable, plural grotesques)

1. A style of ornamentation characterized by fanciful combinations of intertwined forms.
2. Anything grotesque.
   • 2016 February 23, Robbie Collin, “Grimsby review: ' Sacha Baron Cohen's vital, venomous action movie'”, in The Daily Telegraph (London):

     He’s also the new character from Sacha Baron Cohen, the man behind Ali G, Borat and Brüno: that unholy trinity of comic grotesques that told us a lot more about ourselves than we’d like to admit.

3. (typography) A sans serif typeface.

Related terms

• grotesquely
• grotesqueness

Further reading

• Template:projectlink

---

French

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Italian grottesco (“of a cave”), from grotta.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡʁɔ.tɛsk/

• Audio (Paris):

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

grotesque (plural grotesques)

1. farcical (ridiculous)
2. grotesque

Noun

grotesque m (plural grotesques)

1. grotesqueness

Further reading

• “grotesque”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

---

Middle French

Alternative forms

• crotesque

Adjective

grotesque m or f (plural grotesques)

1. farcical (ridiculous)

Noun

grotesque f (plural grotesques)

1. small cave
2. ornament

References

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (grotesque, supplement)