Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A member of the western Goths that invaded the Roman Empire in the fourth century AD and settled in France and Spain, establishing a monarchy that lasted until the early eighth century.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun An individual of the more westerly of the two great historical divisions of the Goths. See Goth.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun One of the West Goths. See the Note under goth.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Any member of an ancient East Germanic tribe, one branch of the Goths (the Ostrogoths being the other), which participated in several wars with Rome and established a kingdom with Toulouse for its capital.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a member of the western group of Goths who sacked Rome and created a kingdom in present-day Spain and southern France

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Late Latin Visigothī, the Visigoths; see wes-pero- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

An invention of Cassiodorus, under the misapprehension that it meant "west Goths".

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Examples

  • The turning point is a terrific number prompted by another song, " I ' ve Got A Dream " ; suddenly the screen is filled with what I can only describe as Visigoth vaudevillians.

    ' Joe Morgenstern 2010

  • It was in the year 711 that the Moor first landed in Spain, and, setting up the Crescent against the Cross, he had in a short time established himself and almost conquered the Land that had withstood Rome at the zenith of her power; but the Visigoth was a sturdy stock and in the mountain sections he withstood the new invader and maintained himself.

    The Old Dominion 1908

  • The French city of Toulouse, for instance, derives its name from the Visigoth kingdom of Tolosa: The sackers of Rome were in turn rather rudely sacked by King Clovis and his Franks, and the name Toulouse is about all that is left of their kingdom.

    Sovereignty and the Pitiless Passage of Time Henrik Bering 2012

  • In "Sepulchre," Mosse returned to the Languedoc of 1891 where the legend of a Visigoth tomb, a demon and a tarot pack led visitors into the mystical past.

    Anna Mundow reviews 'The Winter Ghosts' by 'Labyrinth' author Kate Mosse Anna Mundow 2011

  • In "Sepulchre," Mosse returned to the Languedoc of 1891 where the legend of a Visigoth tomb, a demon and a tarot pack led visitors into the mystical past.

    Anna Mundow reviews 'The Winter Ghosts' by 'Labyrinth' author Kate Mosse Anna Mundow 2011

  • For all that she had the outer trappings of a social butterfly, they imperfectly concealed the heart of a Visigoth, and she consorted merrily with the Captain in rough weather, while her husband spent the trip laid low by seasickness.

    On Doris Lessing « Tales from the Reading Room 2009

  • Visitors to Valencia usually expect to find a town packed with remnants of the days when it was ruled by Roman emperors, Visigoth princes, Moorish caliphs and Christian kings.

    Bob Schulman: Valencia: From Oranges to Operas 2010

  • Of course, I am comparing the differences between the Visigoth and Frankish forced conversions and exterminations of the Jews as a favourable comparison to the second class citizens they were under Moorish rule.

    Islam: The Invasions Of Europe « Unambiguously Ambidextrous 2008

  • Cue another flashback in which Meighan, transformed into a Visigoth, takes Rome and, by extension, Joy.

    Empire of Dreams Scott Eyman 2010

  • Visitors to Valencia usually expect to find a town packed with remnants of the days when it was ruled by Roman emperors, Visigoth princes, Moorish caliphs and Christian kings.

    Bob Schulman: Valencia: From Oranges to Operas 2010

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