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A gargoyle adorning the Dornoch Cathedral in Dornoch, Scotland.

In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building.

The term originates from the French gargouille, originally "throat" or "gullet";^[1] cf. Latin gurgulio, gula, and similar words derived from the root gar, "to swallow", which represented the gurgling sound of water (e.g., Spanish garganta, "throat"; Spanish gárgola, "gargoyle").

A chimera, or a grotesque figure, is a sculpture that does not work as a waterspout and serves only an ornamental or artistic function. These are also usually called gargoyles in laypersons' terminology,^[1] although the field of architecture usually preserves the distinction between gargoyles (functional waterspouts) and non-waterspout grotesques.

Reproductions of statues representing gargoyle-like creatures, available in some retail stores, although sometimes functional, are more often than not grotesques modeled after famous gargoyles.

A view of Paris, from the Galerie des Chimères on Notre Dame de Paris.

The term gargoyle is most often applied to medieval work, but throughout all ages some means of water diversion, when not conveyed in gutters, was adopted. In Egypt, gargoyles ejected the water used in the washing of the sacred vessels which seems to have been done on the flat roofs of the temples. In Greek temples, the water from roofs passed through the mouths of lions whose heads were carved or modelled in the marble or terra cotta cymatium of the cornice. At Pompeii, many terra cotta gargoyles were found that are modelled in the shape of animals.

A local legend that sprang up around the name of St. Romanus ("Romain") (631 – 641 A.D.), the former chancellor of the Merovingian king Clotaire II who was made bishop of Rouen, relates how he delivered the country around Rouen from a monster called Gargouille, having the creature captured by the only volunteer, a condemned man. The gargoyle's grotesque form was said to scare off evil spirits so they were used for protection. In commemoration of St. Romain the Archbishops of Rouen were granted the right to set a prisoner free on the day that the reliquary of the saint was carried in procession (see details at Rouen).

A Hellenistic gargoyle, representing a comical cook-slave. Ai Khanoum, Afghanistan, 2nd century BC.

Many medieval cathedrals included gargoyles and chimarae. The most famous examples are those of Notre Dame de Paris.

Although most have grotesque features, the term gargoyle has come to include all types of images. Some gargoyles were depicted as monks, combinations of real animals and people, many of which were humorous. Unusual animal mixtures, or chimeras, did not act as rainspouts and are more properly called grotesques. They serve more as ornamentation, but are now synonymous with gargoyles.

Monsters, or more precisely chimarae, were used as decoration on 19th and early 20th century buildings in cities such as New York (where the Chrysler Building's stainless steel gargoyles are celebrated), and Chicago. Gargoyles can be found on many churches and buildings.

One impressive collection of modern gargoyles can be found at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC. The cathedral, begun in 1908, is encrusted with the limestone demons. This collection also includes Darth Vader, a crooked politician, robots and many other modern spins on the ancient tradition. The 20th Century collegiate form of the Gothic Revival produced many modern gargoyles, notably at Princeton University, Duke University and the University of Chicago.

In contemporary fiction, gargoyles are typically depicted as a (generally) winged humanoid race with demonic features: generally horns, a tail, and talons. These fictional gargoyles can generally use their wings to fly or glide, and are often depicted as having a rocky hide, or being capable of turning into stone in one way or another.

• Hunky Punk
• Sheela na Gig
• Architectural sculpture
• Rainhead

1. ^ ^{a b} Houghton Mifflin (2000). The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed, Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, page 725. ISBN 978-0-395-82517-4. 

• Guide to Gargoyles and Other Grotesques]] (2003) Wendy True Gasch, ISBN 0-9745299-0-7
• The Stone Carvers: Master Craftsmen of the Washington National Cathedral (1999) Marjorie Hunt, ISBN 1-56098-829-0 & 978-1-58834-247-8

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Gargoyles

Chimera of the St. Patrick Church in Flagstaff, Arizona.	View of a gargoyle on the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, France.	A gargoyle on the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur, Paris, France, showing the water channel.	A Japanese gargoyle adorning Himeji Castle.
Gargoyle at the St.-Petrus-en-Pauluskerk, Ostend, Belgium.	Gargoyle at St Margaret's Church, Wolstanton, England.	Gargoyle Notre-Dame d'Amiens, France.	Gargoyle, right top, at la Llotja, Palma (Mallorca),
Notre Dame Church in Dijon, France.