From Old French 'gargouille' (throat) — the carved figure is literally a throat that gargles rainwater, kin to 'gargle' and 'gorge.'
A carved stone figure, typically grotesque, projecting from the gutter of a building and serving as a spout to carry rainwater clear of the wall; loosely, any grotesque carved figure on a building.
From Old French 'gargouille' (throat, waterspout), from Latin 'gurgulio' (gullet, throat), from a PIE root *gʷer- (to swallow). The gargoyle is literally 'the throat' — a water spout shaped like an open mouth from which rainwater pours. The word is onomatopoeic at its root: 'gurgle,' 'gargle,' and 'gorge' are all related, imitating the sound of liquid passing through
A gargoyle is literally a 'throat' — from the same root as 'gargle,' 'gorge,' and 'gurgle,' all words imitating the sound of liquid in a narrow passage. Technically, only water-spouting carvings are gargoyles; purely decorative grotesque figures without drainage function are properly called 'grotesques' or 'chimeras.'