Question

strictly speaking, gargoyles are spouts carved on the outsides of a building, projecting from a roof gutter and designed to direct water away from the roof. the word \gargoyle\ comes from the old french gargouille and the late latin gurgulio, both of which mean \throat.\ while we usually think of gargoyles as being carved in the shapes of grotesque animals or people, some are undecorated, serving a purely utilitarian function.

question
the author uses the phrase \strictly speaking\ (sentence 1) to indicate that
○ informal language is being used
○ the topic is a serious one
○ a term is being used precisely
○ a word is derived from a foreign language

Explanation:

The phrase "Strictly speaking" is often used to introduce a precise or technical definition. In this context, the author is about to define what gargoyles are in a precise manner (spouts carved on a building's outside, projecting from a roof gutter to direct water away). It's not indicating informal language (as it's starting a precise definition), not just about the topic being serious (the focus is on the precision of the term's use), and while the word's origin is mentioned later, "Strictly speaking" is about the term's precise usage here, not its foreign - language derivation at that moment.

Answer:

a term is being used precisely