Dictionary entry

Gargoyle

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Gar″goyle (?), n. [OE. garguilie, gargouille, cf. Sp. gárgola, prob. fr. the same source as F. gorge throat, influenced by L. gargarizare to gargle. See Gorge and cf. Gargle, Gargarize.] (Arch.) A spout projecting from the roof gutter of a building, often carved grotesquely. [Written also gargle, gargyle, and gurgoyle.]