Meaning

noun art characterized by an incongruous mixture of parts of humans and animals interwoven with plants

adjective distorted and unnatural in shape or size; abnormal and hideous

adjective ludicrously odd

originEtymology tree Ancient Greek κρύπτω (krúptō) Ancient Greek κρυπτή (kruptḗ)bor. Latin crypta Italian grotta Proto-Indo-European *-iskos Proto-Germanic *-iskaz Proto-West Germanic *-iskbor. Vulgar Latin -iscus Italian -esco Italian grottescobor. Middle French grotesquebor. English grotesque Borrowed from Middle French grotesque, from Italian grottesco, from grotta (“cave”) + -esco (relational…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0