Origins
The word 'gargoyle' entered Middle English around 1280 from Old French 'gargouille,' which meant both 'throat' and 'waterspout.' The Old French word derives from Latin 'gurgulio' (gullet, windpipe, throat), which itself is likely onomatopoeic, imitating the gurgling sound of liquid passing through a constricted passage. The deeper connection may be PIE *gʷer- (to swallow, to devour), a root that also produced Greek 'bora' (food) and Latin 'vorāre' (to devour, source of English 'voracious' and 'devour'). The gargoyle, at its etymological core, is 'the throat' — a carved spout through which rainwater gurgles.
The relationship between 'gargoyle,' 'gargle,' 'gorge,' and 'gurgle' is not merely associative but etymological. 'Gargle' comes from Old French 'gargouiller' (to gargle, to gurgle), a verb formed from 'gargouille' (throat). 'Gorge' entered English from Old French 'gorge' (throat, narrow passage), from Latin 'gurges' (whirlpool, abyss), from the same imitative root. 'Gurgle' is a later English formation, probably directly imitative but influenced by the existing garg-/gurg- word family. All four words orbit the same phonosemantic center: the sound of liquid in a throat.
In architectural usage, a gargoyle is specifically a carved waterspout — a projecting figure designed to throw rainwater clear of the building's walls. The rainwater collected by the roof gutters is channeled through the gargoyle's body and expelled through its open mouth, typically several feet from the wall surface. This drainage function is essential: without it, water would run down the face of the masonry, causing erosion, staining, and structural damage over time. The carved figures — often grotesque animals, mythical creatures, or distorted human faces — served the practical purpose of water management while also providing an opportunity for artistic and sometimes satirical expression.
Development
Strictly speaking, a carved figure on a building that does not function as a waterspout is not a gargoyle but a 'grotesque' or a 'chimera.' This distinction, maintained in architectural terminology, is frequently ignored in popular usage, where 'gargoyle' has come to mean any monstrous carved figure on a medieval building. The confusion is understandable — the grotesque carvings and the functional waterspouts often appear side by side on the same building — but the terminological difference is real: a gargoyle gargles; a grotesque merely stares.
The most famous gargoyles are those of Notre-Dame de Paris, though many of the best-known figures on that cathedral are actually nineteenth-century additions by the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc during his major restoration of 1843-1864. The iconic 'Stryge' (the pensive demon resting its chin on its hands, gazing over Paris) is Viollet-le-Duc's creation, not a medieval original. The medieval gargoyles of Notre-Dame do exist but are less photogenic — functional drainage spouts rather than romantic chimeras.
French legend associates the gargoyle with a dragon called 'La Gargouille,' said to have terrorized Rouen in the seventh century before being subdued by Saint Romanus. The dragon's head was mounted on the walls of the city, and rainwater spouts were carved in its likeness. Whether this legend inspired the word or was inspired by it is impossible to determine, but the story captures the cultural logic of the gargoyle: a monstrous creature tamed and pressed into architectural service, its open mouth no longer breathing fire but channeling rain.