gargoyle

[gahr-goil]

noun

1. a grotesquely carved figure of a human or animal.

2. a spout, terminating in a grotesque representation of a human or animal figure with open mouth, projecting from the gutter of a building for throwing rainwater clear of a building.

gargoyle

/ ˈɡɑːɡɔɪl /

noun

1. a waterspout carved in the form of a grotesque face or creature and projecting from a roof gutter, esp of a Gothic church

2. any grotesque ornament or projection, esp on a building

3. a person with a grotesque appearance

gargoyle

1. A sculpture depicting grotesque human shapes or evil spirits used in many buildings of the Middle Ages, most notably on Gothic cathedrals (see also cathedral). Some gargoyles drained rainwater, sending it clear of the walls of the building.

Other Word Forms

• gargoyled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of gargoyle¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English gargoile, from Old French gargouille, gargoule literally, “throat”; gargle

Word History and Origins

Origin of gargoyle¹

C15: from Old French gargouille gargoyle, throat; see _gargle

Example Sentences

He is a gargoyle come to life, complete with the perpetual scowl and the mountainous muscles.

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With shuffling feet and downcast eyes, while making sidelong gargoyle faces at their sister, they handed the letter to their governess.

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A host of celebrity judges have to decide whether they’re seeing an elaborate cake or Halloween decor like a jack-o-lantern, a black cat and a gargoyle.

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“The Brutalist” is a staggering and worthwhile epic that needed to scale back just a bit, like a building with one too many gargoyles.

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A former tattooist who left a woman "looking like a gargoyle" after giving her botched face fillers had been posing as a doctor at his aesthetics clinic, a BBC investigation has revealed.

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