from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Gorget \Gor"get\, n. [OF. gorgete, dim. of gorge throat. See
{Gorge}, n.]
1. A piece of armor, whether of chain mail or of plate,
defending the throat and upper part of the breast, and
forming a part of the double breastplate of the 14th
century.
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2. A piece of plate armor covering the same parts and worn
over the buff coat in the 17th century, and without other
steel armor.
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Unfix the gorget's iron clasp. --Sir W.
Scott.
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3. A small ornamental plate, usually crescent-shaped, and of
gilded copper, formerly hung around the neck of officers
in full uniform in some modern armies.
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4. A ruff worn by women. [Obs.]
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5. (Surg.)
(a) A cutting instrument used in lithotomy.
(b) A grooved instrunent used in performing various
operations; -- called also {blunt gorget}.
--Dunglison.
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6. (Zool.) A crescent-shaped, colored patch on the neck of a
bird or mammal.
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{Gorget hummer} (Zool.), a humming bird of the genus
{Trochilus}. See {Rubythroat}.
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