goal (n.)

A term used by some LINGUISTS as part of the GRAMMATICAL analysis of a SENTENCE: it refers to the entity which is affected by the action of the VERB, e.g. The cat caught a mouse. Several other terms have been used for this idea, e.g. ‘patient’, ‘recipient’. In LOCALISTIC theories of MEANING, an entity takes a ‘path’ from a ‘source’ to a ‘goal’. In CASE grammar, it refers to the place to which something moves.