target English · revision 2868

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 1300|origins=frk *targa}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈtɑː.ɡɪt/, US /ˈtɑːr.ɡɪt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a diminutive of [[targe|t=a light shield]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) which is late Old English targe and Old French targe,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[m|frk|*targa|t=shield]] or another Germanic source,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) cognate with Old High German zarga “edge, border, frame” and Old Norse targa “shield”;^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) it was perhaps originally the edge of a shield.^(Etymonline) The Old French diminutive targete also fed into the English word.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A light round shield: probably before 1300, in ''Kyng Alisaunder'',^(Barnhart 1988) about 1300 in Etymonline^(Etymonline) and about 1400 in the OED.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A round object with concentric circles to shoot at, first in archery, is recorded by 1757, perhaps suggested by the shape of the shield.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Figuratively, a person or thing aimed at, especially as the object of criticism, is also from 1757.^(OED 1989) ''Target practice'' is from 1801,^(Etymonline) and in physics the material at which particles are directed from 1915.^(OED 1989) A goal to be reached, as of production, is a 20th-century sense.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) ''Target audience'' is by 1951, first in Cold War psychological warfare.^(Etymonline) The verb meant “to shield” from the 1610s, now obsolete,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and “to use as a target” from 1837.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – a light shield.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1610s – verb, to shield.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1757 – a mark to shoot at.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1801 – ''target practice''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1837 – verb, to aim at.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1915 – in physics.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1951 – ''target audience''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An object, often marked with circles, that is shot at in archery or [[shooting]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Anything aimed or fired at.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A person or thing that is the object of criticism or attack.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A [[goal]] to be reached: ''sales targets''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(historical)'' A small round [[shield]].^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make a target of; to aim at.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To direct at a particular group: ''ads targeted at teenagers''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[targetable]]

+ * [[targetless]]

+ * [[targeteer]]

+ * [[nontarget]]

+ * [[retarget]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[targe]]

+ * [[targeted]]

+ * [[targeting]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A separate ''target'', “a tatter, shred”, is in the OED from 1773.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}