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Griffin vs Gargoyle - What's the difference?

griffin | gargoyle |

As nouns the difference between griffin and gargoyle

is that griffin is a mythical beast having the body of a lion and the wings and head of an eagle while gargoyle is a carved grotesque figure on a spout which conveys water away from the gutters.

As a proper noun Griffin

is {{surname|common Irish|from=Irish}}, the anglicized form of both the Ó Gríobhtha (Ballygriffey Co. Clare) and Ó Grifín (Dingle, Co. Kerry) clans.

griffin

English

(wikipedia griffin)

Alternative forms

* gryfon (obsolete) * gryphon * griffon

Noun

(en noun)
  • A mythical beast having the body of a lion and the wings and head of an eagle.
  • (dated, Anglo-Indian) A person who has just arrived from Europe.
  • * 1842 , The Asiatic journal and monthly register (volume 38, page 40)
    • Tables were laid out in the palace, profusely covered with wines and refreshments, in the European style; old hands and griffins , fair sex and civilians, seemed all determined to enjoy themselves
  • A large vulture (Gyps fulvus ) found in the mountainous parts of Southern Europe, North Africa, and Asia Minor, supposed to be the "eagle" of the Bible. The bearded griffin is the lammergeier.
  • An English early apple.
  • A cadet newly arrived in British India: half English, half Indian.[http://books.google.com/books?id=pgoPAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA555]

    • Anagrams

    *

    References

    gargoyle

    English

    (wikipedia gargoyle)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A carved grotesque figure on a spout which conveys water away from the gutters.
  • * 1906 , , The Trampling of the Lilies? , page 110
    • From between set teeth came now a flow of oaths and imprecations as steady as the flow of water from the gargoyle overhead.
  • Any decorative carved grotesque figure on a building.
  • A fictional winged monster.
  • * 2005 , Mel Odom, The Secret Explodes? , page 200
    • Almost immediately one of the gargoyles' swept down from the sky and attacked him. The ' gargoyle' s momentum drove them both over the side.
  • (slang, pejorative) An ugly woman.

    • Synonyms

    * (any decorative carved grotesque figure) grotesque, hunky punk * (ugly woman) crone, hag

    Derived terms

    *gargoylish