gargoyle

Etymology

From Old French gargouille. Doublet of gargle. The Académie Française suggests the first attestation as gargoule in 1294.

noun

1. A carved grotesque figure on a spout which conveys water away from the gutters.
   From between set teeth came now a flow of oaths and imprecations as steady as the flow of water from the gargoyle overhead. 1906, Rafael Sabatini, The Trampling of the Lilies, page 110
2. Any decorative carved grotesque figure on a building.
3. A fictional winged monster.
   Almost immediately one of the gargoyles swept down from the sky and attacked him. The gargoyle's momentum drove them both over the side. 2005, Mel Odom, The Secret Explodes, page 200
4. (derogatory) An ugly woman.
   Above all, in what reckless moment had she encouraged that person and her gargoyle of a mother to move to Mayfair, and set up house around the corner? 2011, Emma Donoghue, Life Mask