Illustration of gargoyle
- gargoyle 1a
gargoyle
noun
gar·goyle ˈgär-ˌgȯi(-ə)l 
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
gargoyled
ˈgär-ˌgȯi(-ə)ld
adjective 
Did you know?
In the 12th century, St. Bernard of Clairvaux reportedly complained about the new sculptures in the cloisters where he lived. "Surely," he is quoted as saying, "if we do not blush for such absurdities we should at least regret what we have spent on them." St. Bernard was apparently provoked by the grotesque figures designed to drain rainwater from buildings. By the 13th century, those figures were being called "gargoyles," a name that came to Middle English from the Old French gargoule. The stone beasts may have earned that name because of the water that gargled out of their throats and mouths.
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Gregory's a friendly gargoyle, with a personality closer to a puppy than a dragon. 
Alex Raiman, EW.com, 5 Aug. 2022 Goodyear is a player of multiple personalities: His body bowed tight through the first movement — a gargoyle hammering octaves. Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 17 June 2022 Usually found in deep water, the adult gargoyle cusk eel is extremely rare and represents the only member of its genus. Andrea Gawrylewski, Scientific American, 8 June 2022 Its Gothic arches, gargoyle heads, and intricate details impressed both the man who commissioned the palatial urban chateau, industrialist Isaac Fletcher, and architecture critics. Leena Kim, Town & Country, 21 Mar. 2022 The 250-room, gargoyle-sprouting château, designed in a French Renaissance idiom for George Washington Vanderbilt (1862-1914), was an otherworldly addition to the hardscrabble North Carolina upcountry of the 1890s. Catesby Leigh, WSJ, 11 Mar. 2022 They were equally obsessed with the physical experience of grand-style design; Horn, seeing a gargoyle on a fountain in Italy, borrowed its design for the metal spigots that dispensed coffee for a nickel. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 18 Feb. 2022 Spiderwebs and gargoyle-like figures add to the creepiness. Carol Kovach, cleveland, 19 Oct. 2021 Over the years, Koch saved hundreds of cases of materials documenting Stone’s history, from its initial building lease to its first shipping boxes, to fan letters to multiple versions of its gargoyle logo and tap handle designs. San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Sep. 2021 See More
Alex Raiman, EW.com, 5 Aug. 2022 Goodyear is a player of multiple personalities: His body bowed tight through the first movement — a gargoyle hammering octaves. Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 17 June 2022 Usually found in deep water, the adult gargoyle cusk eel is extremely rare and represents the only member of its genus. Andrea Gawrylewski, Scientific American, 8 June 2022 Its Gothic arches, gargoyle heads, and intricate details impressed both the man who commissioned the palatial urban chateau, industrialist Isaac Fletcher, and architecture critics. Leena Kim, Town & Country, 21 Mar. 2022 The 250-room, gargoyle-sprouting château, designed in a French Renaissance idiom for George Washington Vanderbilt (1862-1914), was an otherworldly addition to the hardscrabble North Carolina upcountry of the 1890s. Catesby Leigh, WSJ, 11 Mar. 2022 They were equally obsessed with the physical experience of grand-style design; Horn, seeing a gargoyle on a fountain in Italy, borrowed its design for the metal spigots that dispensed coffee for a nickel. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 18 Feb. 2022 Spiderwebs and gargoyle-like figures add to the creepiness. Carol Kovach, cleveland, 19 Oct. 2021 Over the years, Koch saved hundreds of cases of materials documenting Stone’s history, from its initial building lease to its first shipping boxes, to fan letters to multiple versions of its gargoyle logo and tap handle designs. San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Sep. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle English gargule, gargoyl, from Old French gargoule
First Known Use
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Kids Definition
gargoyle
noun
gar·goyle ˈgär-ˌgȯil
: a strange or frightening human or animal figure that sticks out from the roof of a building and often serves as a waterspout