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When the word gargoyle comes up, most people think of a devilish looking winged creature. But what exactly is a gargoyle? Gargoyles are used as water spouts on buildings. According to wikipedia:
The term originates from the French gargouille, which in English most likely means "throat" or is otherwise known as the "gullet";[2] cf. Latin gurgulio, gula, gargula ("gullet" or "throat") 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"). It is also connected to the French verb gargariser, which means "to gargle."[3] The Italian word for gargoyle is doccione or gronda sporgente, an architecturally precise phrase which means "protruding gutter." The German word for gargoyle is Wasserspeier, which means "water spewer." The Dutch word for gargoyle is waterspuwer, which means "water spitter" or "water spewer." A building that has gargoyles on it is "gargoyled."
So the design of the water spout is generally esthetic. However , there are legends of gargoyles in the shape of flying dragons that terrorized villages. It almost sounds like a pterodactyl.
A French legend that sprang up around the name of St. Romanus ("Romain") (AD 631–641), 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 or Goji. La Gargouille is said to have been the typical dragon with batlike wings, a long neck, and the ability to breathe fire from its mouth.In ancient Egypt and Greece, many gargoyles were in the shape of lions.
by Rita Jean Moran (www.thelibrarykids.com)
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gargoyle
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