targe
English edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English targe, either:
- from Old French targe, from Frankish *targā (“buckler”);
or
- from Old English targa (masculine) and targe (feminine);
both ultimately from Old Norse targa (“round shield”) from Proto-Germanic *targǭ (“edge”), from Proto-Indo-European *derǵʰ- (“fenced lot”). Akin to Old High German zarga (“side wall, rim”) (German Zarge (“border, frame”)). However, the soft -g- seems to indicate a French origin.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
targe (plural targes)
- (archaic) A small shield.
- 1730, Andrew Brice, Freedom: A Poem, Written in Time of Recess from the Rapacious Claws of Bailiffs, and Devouring Fangs of Goalers, […], Exon [Exeter, Devon]: […] [T]he author, […], →OCLC, page 80:
- Or burley Hero [Ajax the Great] Sev'nfold Targe who bore, / With Choler furibund, vindictive Steel / Plunging in Brutal Gore; [...]
- 1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, chapter X, in Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume III, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC, page 242:
- The Jester wore his usual fantastic habit, but late accidents had led him to adopt a good cutting falchion, instead of his wooden sword, with a targe to match it; [...]
- 1880, Richard Francis Burton, Os Lusíadas, volume I, page 33:
- But now the Moormen, stalking o'er the strand / to guard the wat'ery stores the strangers need; / this, targe on arm and assegai in hand, / that, with his bended bow, and venom'd reed[.]
- 2004, S[tephen] M[ichael] Stirling, Dies the Fire, New York, N.Y.: Roc Books, →ISBN, page 444:
- The Bearkillers’ swordmistress danced. Her targe beat aside a spearhead, and then the backsword flicked out in a blurring thrust.
- (archaic) A pendant or tassel.
- Synonym: target
Derived terms edit
Anagrams edit
Dutch edit
Alternative forms edit
- targie (obsolete)
Etymology edit
From Middle Dutch targe. Spelling variants indicate that the Middle Dutch word derived from or was influenced by Old or Middle French.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
targe f (plural targes)
- (historical, dated) A targe (concave, round or variously shaped shield).
French edit
Etymology edit
Inherited from Middle French targe (“round shield, targe”) from Old French targe (“buckler”), from Frankish *targa (“buckler”), probably from Old Norse targa (“small round shield”) (whence also Old English targe, targa (“shield”)) from Proto-Germanic *targǭ (“edge”), from Proto-Indo-European *derǵʰ- (“fenced lot”). Akin to Old High German zarga (“side wall, rim”) (German Zarge (“frame”)).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
targe f (plural targes)
- targe, buckler
- 1832, Victor Hugo, Notre-Dame-de-Paris, sourced from [1]:
- Vrai Dieu ! grommela Phoebus, des targes, des grands-blancs, des petits-blancs, des mailles d’un tournois les deux, des deniers parisis, de vrais liards-à-l’aigle ! C’est éblouissant !
- "True God!" muttered Phoebus, "targes, big−blanks, little blanks, mailles,* every two worth one of Tournay, farthings of Paris, real eagle liards! 'Tis dazzling!"
Descendants edit
Further reading edit
- “targe”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams edit
Middle English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
- From Old English targa, from Proto-Germanic *targǭ.
- From Old French targe, from Frankish *targa (“buckler”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
targe (plural targes)
Descendants edit
References edit
- “tarǧe, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Middle French edit
Noun edit
targe f (plural targes)