Bible Dictionaries

1910 New Catholic Dictionary

Gargoyle

(French: gargouille, throat) Projecting spout to discharge rainwater from the roof-gutters of buildings. In Gothic architecture they were grotesquely carved to represent the heads of men, demons, and beasts symbolic of various characteristics; the lion, of courage; the fox, of cunning. Some of them are famous, notably those of Notre Dame in Paris; in France it is said there are no two alike. Gargoyles are now used merely for ornamentation.