Hypertext Webster Gateway: "grotesque"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Grotesque \Gro*tesque\, n.
1. A whimsical figure, or scene, such as is found in old
crypts and grottoes. --Dryden.
2. Artificial grotto-work.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
grotesque
adj 1: distorted and unnatural in shape or size; abnormal and
hideous; "tales of grotesque serpents eight fathoms
long that churned the seas"; "twisted into monstrous
shapes" [syn: {monstrous}, {unnatural}]
2: ludicrously odd; "Hamlet's assumed antic disposition";
"fantastic Halloween costumes"; "a grotesque reflection in
the mirror" [syn: {antic}, {fantastic}, {fantastical}]
n : art characterized by an incongruous mixture of parts of
humans and animals interwoven with plants
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