garget

English

Etymology

From Middle English garget, gargate (“throat”), from Old French gargate. Compare gorge.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡɑː(ɹ)ɡɪt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)ɡɪt

Noun

garget (plural gargets)

1. (archaic) An inflammation on a cow's or sheep's udder; synonym of mastitis.
   • 1836, William Youatt, Cattle: Their Breeds, Management, Diseases:

     Chronic indurations will sometimes remain after the inflammation of garget has been subdued; they will be somewhat tender, and they will always lessen the quantity of milk.

   • 1941, W.L. Boyd, W.A. Billings, W.G. Andberg, University of Minnesota Agricultural Extension Service, “Mastitis or Garget in Cattle”, in Extension Folder, University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy‎^[1]:

     Mastitis is a disease of the udder. More specifically, mastitis is an inflammation of the udder usually caused by germs which enter through the teat canal. Many dairymen and farmers refer to the disease by the terms garget, caked udder, and a variety of other names. All, however, are one and the same disease.

   • 1971, George Ewart Evans, quoting Margaret Meek (born 1909), Tools of Their Trades: An Oral History of Men at Work c. 1900‎^[2], Taplinger Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 143:

     [speaking of Suffolk in the era circa World War I] As well as these special journeys we could go for regular inspections of the cattle—because there were troubles. Some of them would be heifers or dry cows, and they would get what I suppose we'd call mastitis today but then we called it gargut [spelling as given].

2. A distemper in pigs accompanied by staggering and loss of appetite.

   Synonym: gargol

3. Pokeweed.

   Synonyms: coakum, inkberry, pigeonweed, pocan, poke, poke salad, scoke

Derived terms

• gargety

Anagrams

• tagger

Middle English

Alternative forms

• gargat

Noun

garget

1. throat
   • late 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Nun's Priest's Tale, The Canterbury Tales, line 4525-4526:

     [...] And by the gargat hente Chauntecleer,
     And on his bak toward the wode him beer, [...]

     [...] And grabbed Chauntecleer by the throat,
     And carried him on his back toward the woods, [...]

References

• “garget”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.