target

Etymology

From Middle French targette, targuete, diminutive of targe (“light shield”), from Old French, from Frankish *targa (“buckler”), akin to 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”)), Spanish tarjeta (“card”).

noun

1. A butt or mark to shoot at, as for practice, or to test the accuracy of a firearm, or the force of a projectile.
   Take careful aim at the target.
2. A goal or objective.
   Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers.[…]Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster. Clever financial ploys are what have made billionaires of the industry’s veterans. “Operational improvement” in a portfolio company has often meant little more than promising colossal bonuses to sitting chief executives if they meet ambitious growth targets. That model is still prevalent today. 2013-06-22, “Engineers of a different kind”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 70
   They have a target to finish the project by November.
3. An object of criticism or ridicule.
4. A person, place, or thing that is frequently attacked, criticized, or ridiculed.
5. A kind of shield:
   1. A kind of small shield or buckler, used as a defensive weapon in war.
   2. (obsolete) A shield resembling the Roman scutum, larger than the modern buckler.
      The target or buckler was carried by the heavy armed foot, it answered to the scutum of the Romans; its form was sometimes that of a rectangular parallelogram, but more commonly had its bottom rounded off; it was generally convex, being curved in its breadth. 1786, Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page 22
   3. (heraldry) A bearing representing a buckler.
      The fourth field is also party per pale, and for the dutchy of Genevois, contains chequered Or and azure: The sinister for the dutchy of Montserat, a target, gules. The point Or is a black eagle of the county of Maurienne. 1762, Anton Friedrich Büsching, A New System of Geography: In which is Given, a General Account of the Situation and Limits, the Manners, History, and Constitution, of the Several Kingdoms and States of the Known World, page 12
6. (sports) The pattern or arrangement of a series of hits made by a marksman on a butt or mark.
   He made a good target.
7. (surveying) The sliding crosspiece, or vane, on a leveling staff.
8. (rail transport) A conspicuous disk attached to a switch lever to show its position, or for use as a signal.
9. (cricket) the number of runs that the side batting last needs to score in the final innings in order to win
10. (linguistics) The tenor of a metaphor.
11. (translation studies) The translated version of a document, or the language into which translation occurs.
    Do you charge by source or target?
12. A person (or group of people) that a person or organization is trying to employ or to have as a customer, audience etc.
    Gary Cahill, a target for Arsenal and Tottenham before the transfer window closed, put England ahead early on and Rooney was on target twice before the interval as the early hostility of the Bulgarian supporters was swiftly subdued. September 2, 2011, Phil McNulty, “Bulgaria 0-3 England”, in BBC
13. (UK, dated) A thin cut; a slice; specifically, of lamb, a piece consisting of the neck and breast joints.
14. (Scotland, obsolete) A tassel or pendant.
15. (Scotland, obsolete) A shred; a tatter.

verb

1. (transitive) To aim something, especially a weapon, at (a target).
2. (transitive, figurative) To aim for as an audience or demographic.
   The advertising campaign targeted older women.
3. (transitive, computing) To produce code suitable for.
   This cross-platform compiler can target any of several processors.