Gargoyle

In architecture, a gargoyle (/ˈɡɑːrɡɔɪl/) is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between. Architects often used multiple gargoyles on buildings to divide the flow of rainwater off the roof to minimize the potential damage from a rainstorm. A trough is cut in the back of the gargoyle and rainwater typically exits through the open mouth. Gargoyles are usually an elongated fantastic animal because the length of the gargoyle determines how far water is thrown from the wall. When Gothic flying buttresses were used, aqueducts were sometimes cut into the buttress to divert water over the aisle walls.

Etymology

The term originates from the French gargouille, which in English is likely to mean "throat" or is otherwise known as the "gullet"; 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., Portuguese and Spanish garganta, "throat"; gárgola, "gargoyle"). It is also connected to the French verb gargariser, which shares a Latin root with the verb "gargle" and is likely imitative in origin. The Italian word for gargoyle is doccione or gronda sporgente, (but also gargolla o garguglia, when it has a grotesque shape) an architecturally precise phrase which means "protruding gutter."

Gargoyle (comics)

Gargoyle is a name shared by two fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Publication history

The first Gargoyle, Yuri Topolov, appears in The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962), and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The Gargoyle's appearance in Rampaging Hulk #1 is merely part of one of Bereet's fictional techno-art films. The first Gargoyle received an entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #17, where his real name was revealed.

The second Gargoyle, Isaac Christians, is a human/demon composite and a member of the Defenders. He was created by writer J. M. DeMatteis and artist Don Perlin. During his long run on The Defenders, Gargoyle also was the co-star of Marvel Team-Up #119, written by his co-creator DeMatteis, who later described the issue as "one of my favorite favorite stories." In 1985 Marvel published a four-issue Gargoyle limited series, written by DeMatteis and drawn by Mark Badger. DeMatteis said of the series, "It was a psychological fantasy. You take the interior life and make it concrete... give it substance... and play with it." Explaining why he decided to do a limited series starring Gargoyle, he said,

Gargoyle (router firmware)

Gargoyle is a free OpenWrt-based Linux distribution for a range of Broadcom and Atheros chipset based wireless routers, mainly the older-model Linksys WRT54G (including the WRT54GL and WRT54GS), Asus Routers and Netgear WNR3500L. Among notable features is the ability to limit and monitor bandwidth and set bandwidth caps per specific IP address.

Main features

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