Word.ws English Dictionary

targe

/tɑːd͡ʒ/US/tɑɹd͡ʒ/

targe noun: a small shield.

Noun

targe (plural targes)

  1. (archaic) A small shield.
    • Or burley Hero [Ajax the Great] Sev'nfold Targe who bore, / With Choler furibund, vindictive Steel / Plunging in Brutal Gore; [...]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
    • 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; [...]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
  2. (archaic) A pendant or tassel.
    Synonyms:
    target

targe meaning in Tamil and Malayalam

targe in Tamil

பரிசை, சிறுகேடயம்

targe in Malayalam

ഒരു ചെറിയ പരിച

Examples of targe in a sentence

  • 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[.]1880, Richard Francis Burton, Os Lusíadas, volume I, page 33:
  • Her targe beat aside a spearhead, and then the backsword flicked out in a blurring thrust.2004, S[tephen] M[ichael] Stirling, Dies the Fire, New York, N.Y.: Roc Books, →ISBN, page 444:

Synonyms of targe

Forms of targe

pluraltarges

Origin of targe

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.

Words formed from targe

Words that rhyme with targe

1 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about targe

What does targe mean?
Targe means a small shield.
What is targe in Tamil?
Targe in Tamil is பரிசை, சிறுகேடயம். See Targe meaning in Tamil.
How do you use targe in a sentence?
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[.]
What part of speech is targe?
Targe is a noun.
How do you pronounce targe?
Targe is pronounced /tɑːd͡ʒ/ (UK).
What is the plural of targe?
The plural of targe is targes.

Words near targe in the dictionary

  1. Targ
  2. Targa
  3. targa timing
  4. Targa top
  5. Targa tops
  6. targe
  7. targeman
  8. targemen
  9. targes
  10. target
  11. target audience

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: targe (page history and authors); targe (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); targe (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-targe.wav.

Cite this entry: “targe.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/targe. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.