an ornament consisting of a grotesquely carved figure of a person or animal a spout that terminates in a grotesquely carved figure of a person or animal
A gargoyle is a carved waterspout on a church or cathedral building Often it is in a grotesque shape of some animal, dragon or demon and was very common on Gothic cathedrals (e g Notre Dame, Paris)
A gargoyle is a decorative stone carving on old buildings. It is usually shaped like the head of a strange and ugly creature, and water drains through it from the roof of the building. a stone figure of a strange and ugly creature, that carries rain water from the roof of an old building, especially a church (gargouille ; because the water appears to come out of the creature's throat). 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
{i} water spout in the shape of a monster or grotesque creature (often on Gothic churches); grotesque figure resembling a gargoyle; (Slang) person who ha an ugly face
1 An ornamental spout, to discharge water outward from behind parapets 2 By usage, the carved or molded ornamentation, generally in the form of a grotesque figure, of a projecting gutter spout