Word pronounciation!

[WillieMacG]

He told me it's pronounced "tarGEE."

I thought that was a store that competes with Wally-World.

I have always heard it as Targe as in barge, Marge, large, you get the idea.

[Donnachaidh]

tahrj..... noun Archaic .
a small, round shield; a target or buckler.

Origin:
before 1000; Middle English < Old French < Old Norse targa round shield; cognate with Old High German zarga rim, ring; replacing Old English targe, targa < Old Norse

Hello starbkjrus...

I've found the Dictionary.com explanation of the origin.

Strange that, I have two Scots dialect dictionaries and a Doric one and nowhere in the pages can I find the word targe, in any spelling, as a translation of small round shield.
I may have only been used by by Gaelic speakers in the west and not by Scots anywhere else.
I must see if I can find it in the Gaelic.

G

[Woodsheal]

Seems like the hard 'g' would be the earlier, and more correct, form - since it is apparently a Germanic/Norse word in origin....

[Donnachaidh]

No mention of it in my English dictionary.

Nearest word I can come up with is obviously 'target', which to me suggests the roundness of a target.
I've concocted a theory however, a fanciful one if I may.
Being that Ireland and the Hebridies were at one time dominated by the Scandinavians, perhaps they introduced the word to the indigenous peoples and that it remained in the Gaelic language until resurfacing amongst non-gaelic speakers..

Jist a thocht !!

G

[WillieMacG]

From Wikipedia, but, no info on how to pronounce it...

Targe (from Old Franconian *targa "shield", Proto-Germanic *targo "border") was a general word for shield in late Old English. Its diminutive, target, came to mean an object to be aimed at in the 18th century.

The term refers to various types of shields used by infantry troops from the 13th to 16th centuries. More specifically, a targe was a concave shield fitted with enarmes on the inside, one adjustable by a buckle, to be attached to the forearm, and the other fixed as a grip for the left hand. These shields were mostly made of iron or iron-plated wood. From the 15th century, the term could also refer to special shields used for jousting.

From the early 17th century, until the Battle of Culloden in 1746, the Scottish Highlander's main means of defence in battle was his targe.[1][2] After the disastrous defeat of the Jacobites at Culloden, the carrying of the targe would have been banned, and many would have been destroyed, or put to other uses. Those that remain have intricate patterns, and are well decorated, indicating that they would have originally belonged to important people.

[Donnachaidh]

I've jist googled the word 'tarje' from Norwegian and Danish...

I have the sound of the word, but not the literal meaning.

The short round shield was also called a buckler.

G

[Nighthawk]

As in large

Is that "larj" or "larjay?"

Seriously, folks- that's I thought. Thank you all very much!!

[Nighthawk]

I've jist googled the word 'tarje' from Norwegian and Danish...

I have the sound of the word, but not the literal meaning.

The short round shield was also called a buckler.

G

Bucklers were a small round shield, as well, but they were typically all-metal construction. A buckler looks essentially like this:



A targe looks like this:



It's wood covered with leather.

And speaking of pronounciation problems- it took me almost a year to actually meet someone with the name Donnachaidh so I could find out how that one was pronounced!! She and I have since become good friends. I'm making a wood and leather camp stool for my Donnachaidh friend at the moment!

[piperdbh]

That's some pretty leatherwork. Did you make it, Nighthawk?

[Nighthawk]

That's some pretty leatherwork. Did you make it, Nighthawk?

Nope, not yet! I found that and saved it, though, because it gives me ideas for my next one!! I love the way the trinity knots are integrated, but I'm not sure I like the figure 8 designs.