Nerdy fact: a gargoyle is only a gargoyle if it’s there for drainage from a roof or other architectural feature. If it’s just decorative, it’s a grotesque or just a plain old statue.
It is also worth noting that the word “gargoyle” and “gargle” have the same root word.
gargle (v.)
1520s, from French gargouiller “to gurgle, bubble” (14c.), from Old French gargole “throat, waterspout,” which is perhaps from garg-, imitative of throat sounds, + *goule, dialect word for “mouth,” from Latin gula “throat.” Related: Gargled; gargling. The earlier, native, form of the word was Middle English gargarize (early 15c.), from Latin gargarizare, from Greek gargarizein.
Nerdy fact: a gargoyle is only a gargoyle if it’s there for drainage from a roof or other architectural feature. If it’s just decorative, it’s a grotesque or just a plain old statue.
It is also worth noting that the word “gargoyle” and “gargle” have the same root word.
(via etymonline)