A strap or loop, especially one used to suspend a shield from the neck in medieval combat, or a rope loop on a lute or stringed instrument.
From Old French 'guige,' of Germanic origin possibly related to Old High German 'wigil.' The term appears in medieval military and musical contexts, borrowed into Middle English.
Medieval warriors used guiges to free their hands in battle by suspending shields across their chests—it's the ancestor of modern shoulder straps!
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