Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A light shield or buckler.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A shield; buckler: same as target.
  • To delay; tarry.
  • To vex with censure; reprimand; rate.
  • To vex with questions; catechize or cross-examine strictly.
  • To keep under strict discipline.
  • noun A charter.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Obs. or Poetic A shield or target.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun archaic A small shield.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French; see target.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English targe, from Old English targa (masculine) and targe (feminine), both from Old Norse targa ("round shield") from Proto-Germanic *targōn (“edge”), from Proto-Indo-European *dArg'h- (“fenced lot”). Akin to Old High German zarga ("side wall, rim") (German Zarge ("border, frame")). Reinforced in Middle English by Old French targe (French targe), from the same Germanic source.

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Examples

Comments

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  • Over Castletown front gate the rain streamed down the eroding forms of the sphinxes, down their simple faces, tautened ribs, down the gate columns embellished with bas-relief targe and drooping garland of ivy.

    - Aidan Higgins, Langrishe, Go Down

    August 28, 2008