gargoyle

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The Word of the Day for October 31 is:=20

gargoyle   \GAR-goy-ul\   noun
          1 *a : a spout in the form of a grotesque human or animal figu=
re projecting from a roof gutter to throw rainwater clear of a building =
 b : a grotesquely carved figure
     2 : a person with an ugly face

Example sentence:
     The monastery's gargoyles had supposedly been modeled on the faces =
of monks who had formerly resided there.=20

Did you know?
          In the 12th century, St. Bernard of Clairvaux reportedly compl=
ained about the new sculptures in the cloisters where he lived. "Surely,=
" he is quoted as saying, "if we do not blush for such absurdities we sh=
ould at least regret what we have spent on them." St. Bernard was appare=
ntly provoked by the grotesque figures designed to drain rainwater from =
buildings. By the 13th century, those figures were being called "gargoyl=
es," a name that came to Middle English from the Old French =E2=80=9Cgar=
goule.=E2=80=9D The stone beasts may have earned that name because of th=
e water that gargled out of their throats and mouths.





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