What does 목적 (目的) literally mean?

 ANSWER: eye (目) target (的)

My Korean-English dictionary defines 목적 (目的) as "an object," "a purpose," "an aim," "an end," "a goal," or "an intention," but the Chinese characters that form the word literally means "eye (目) target (的)."

So, how did "eye (目) target (的) " come to mean, "aim," "purpose" or "goal"?

One story is that a long time ago, a man was looking for someone to marry his daughter and decided to have an archery contest to choose the man among the many suitors. The winner would get to marry his daughter. The "target" used in the contest was a peacock feather, and the suitors were supposed "to aim" for the "eye"-like pattern on the feather. As a result, 목적 (目的), or "eye target," supposedly came to mean "aim" or "goal."

From Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary