Grotesque
In common usage grotesque means strange, fantastic, ugly or bizarre and thus is often used to describe shapes and distorted forms such as Halloween masks or Gargoyles on churches. (See also: Sheela Na Gig, Hunky Punk, mask, mummers play, pumpkin.)
In art history
In art, grotesques are a decorative form of arabesques with interlaced garlands and strange animal figures which were fashionable in ancient Rome (as wall decoration, mosaics, etc.) and in Renaissance art as wall decoration, in marquetry (fine woodwork), in book illustration and in other decorative uses. It should not be confused with the decorative form of strapwork (the portrayal of leather straps in plaster or wood moldings).
In typography
Grotesque (generally with an upper-case G) is the style of the sans serif types of the 19th century. The name was coined by William Thorowgood, the first to produce a san serif type with lower case, in 1832. (Capital-only faces of this style were available from 1816.) Examples of Grotesque designs are:
Etymology
The word grotesque comes from the same Latin root as "grotto", meaning a small cave or hollow. The expression comes from the unearthing and rediscovery of ancient Roman decorations in caves and buried sites in the 15th cenutry.
