Target originally meant a small round shield, from Frankish *targa. The meaning reversed entirely when shields were set up as marks for archery practice, flipping from 'protection' to 'aim'.
A person, object, or place selected as the aim of an attack or action; a goal or objective.
From Middle English target, from Old French targette, diminutive of targe meaning 'a light shield', from Frankish *targa, from Proto-Germanic *targō meaning 'edge, border, frame'. The original meaning was not something you aim at but something you hide behind — a small round shield. The reversal happened in archery practice: small shields were set up as marks to shoot at, and by the 16th century, the word had flipped entirely from 'thing that protects' to 'thing you aim at'. It is one
Target originally meant a shield — the opposite of its current meaning. Soldiers set up small round shields for archery practice, and over time the word shifted from 'the thing that protects you' to 'the thing you shoot at'. The Italian car brand Targa takes its name from the same root — the Targa Florio road race was named after a shield-shaped trophy plate.