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ESL forum >
Ask for help > Vocabulary questions
Vocabulary questions
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lolelozano
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Vocabulary questions
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I was just about to go to bed, when I decided to post a doubt.
Last week, one of my students asked what was the difference among
aim, target, and goal -
I believe goal and aim are both syn. right? sth`that you hope to achieve
how about target? is it also related?!
thanks in advance - have a good night!
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1 Nov 2010
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lolelozano
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I believe target, aim, goal are nouns and they are all similiar - intend to achieve,
I can�t seem to notice the difference then =(
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1 Nov 2010
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SueThom
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Well, let �s see...each one--especially aim and target--have multiple meanings and some overlap; others don �t.
Aim and target can be used as verbs, e.g. you aim a gun at a target, you are targeted by a thief. You can �t "goal" anything, though.
Aim ultimately comes from a Latin (via French) word meaning to estimate. Target comes from a word for a shield (which I suppose soldiers of the opposing army would aim at).
A target is a piece of paper, metal or something you aim/point a weapon at and I suppose lature figuratively became something you direct effort toward, something you want to attain. You can �t point an object (e.g. gun, arrow) at an aim or a goal, but you can direct effort towards achieving them.
It takes effort to achieve all 3, I suppose.
Interesting question. I �m looking forward to other responses.
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1 Nov 2010
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Vickiii
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You have posted a question not a doubt....
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1 Nov 2010
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aliciapc
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Despite Sue �s very clear explanation, here �s an interesting link . The words "purpose" and "objective" are added here, though ...
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1 Nov 2010
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