gorget

[gawr-jit]

noun

a patch on the throat of a bird or other animal, distinguished by its color, texture, etc.
a piece of armor for the throat.
a crescent-shaped ornament worn on a chain around the neck as a badge of rank by officers in the 17th and 18th centuries.

a wimple of the Middle Ages, worn with the ends fastened in the hair.

Origin of gorget

1425–75; late Middle English < Old French. See gorge¹, -et

Related formsgor·get·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for gorget

Historical Examples of gorget

One half expects to see him fashioning a gorget or a sword on his anvil.
Children of the Tenements
Jacob A. Riis
His helmet had been loosened from his gorget and was held before him on his horse's neck.
Sir Nigel
Arthur Conan Doyle
Next came the gorget, as it was called, which was a sort of collar to cover the neck.
Richard III
Jacob Abbott
The gorget presented in Fig. 1 of this plate is copied from Schoolcraft.
Art in Shell of the Ancient Americans
William H. Holmes
This gorget belongs, in its general character as an ornament, to the North.
Art in Shell of the Ancient Americans
William H. Holmes

British Dictionary definitions for gorget

gorget

noun

a collar-like piece of armour worn to protect the throat
a part of a wimple worn by women to cover the throat and chest, esp in the 14th century
a band of distinctive colour on the throat of an animal, esp a bird

Derived Formsgorgeted, adjective

Word Origin for gorget

C15: from Old French, from gorge; see gorge

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for gorget

"armor for the throat," late 15c., from Old French gorgete, diminutive of gorge "throat" (see gorge (n.)).

gorget in Medicine

gorget

[gôr′jĭt]

A surgical director or guide with a wide groove for use in lithotomy.