gargoyle

gar·goyle

noun \ˈgär-ˌgȯi(-ə)l\

Definition of GARGOYLE

1

a : a spout in the form of a grotesque human or animal figure projecting from a roof gutter to throw rainwater clear of a building

b : a grotesquely carved figure

2

: a person with an ugly face

— gar·goyled \-ˌgȯi(-ə)ld\ adjective

Illustration of GARGOYLE

Origin of GARGOYLE

Middle English gargule, gargoyl, from Old French gargoule

First Known Use: 13th century

Other Architecture Terms

buttress, casita, cornice, fanlight, garret, lintel, parapet, pilaster, plinth

Rhymes with GARGOYLE

coal oil, corn oil, fish oil, fixed oil, free-soil, fuel oil, gas oil, night soil, palm oil, red soil, rose oil, shale oil, snake oil, sperm oil, subsoil, tung oil, white oil

gargoyle

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Carved spout that drains water from a rooftop gutter. The Gothic gargoyle was usually a grotesque bird or animal sitting on the back of a cornice and projecting forward for several feet in order to throw the water far from the building. The term is often loosely applied to any grotesque or fantastic beast, such as the chimères (chimeras) that decorate the parapets of Notre-Dame de Paris.