Search Result for "gargoyle": 
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (2)

1. a spout that terminates in a grotesquely carved figure of a person or animal;

2. an ornament consisting of a grotesquely carved figure of a person or animal;


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Gargoyle \Gar"goyle\, n. [OE. garguilie, gargouille, cf. Sp. g['a]rgola, 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.] [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

gargoyle n 1: a spout that terminates in a grotesquely carved figure of a person or animal 2: an ornament consisting of a grotesquely carved figure of a person or animal
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

22 Moby Thesaurus words for "gargoyle": baboon, bag, beak, blemish, blot, dog, downspout, eyesore, fright, hag, harridan, mess, monster, monstrosity, no beauty, scarecrow, sight, spout, teratism, ugly duckling, waterspout, witch
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):

Gargoyle A language for compiler writing. [J.V. Garwick, CACM 7(1):16-20, (Jan 1964)]. (1994-11-04)
The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906):

GARGOYLE, n. A rain-spout projecting from the eaves of mediaeval buildings, commonly fashioned into a grotesque caricature of some personal enemy of the architect or owner of the building. This was especially the case in churches and ecclesiastical structures generally, in which the gargoyles presented a perfect rogues' gallery of local heretics and controversialists. Sometimes when a new dean and chapter were installed the old gargoyles were removed and others substituted having a closer relation to the private animosities of the new incumbents.