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distaste

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Etymology and origin of the English word distaste

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1586 T. Bright, Treatise of Melancholie More words from the 16th century
Ultimate origin
Old French taster
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English taste
English distaste
From the same root
English tasty ← taste

Pronunciation

  • US: /(ˌ)dɪsˈteɪst/, /ˈdɪs(ˌ)teɪst/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English dis- + taste,[2][3][4][5] probably as a rendering of Italian disgusto and Old French desgoust, now dégoût, in the noun, and of Italian disgustare and desgouster, now dégoûter, in the verb.[2][6][7][8] The OED points to the dictionaries of Florio and Cotgrave for those models.[2] Etymonline also allows that the noun comes from the older verb.[3] The French pattern, from a prefix meaning "the opposite of" and a verb for "to taste", is the source of disgust.[3] Taste is from Old French taster (“to touch, feel; to taste”).[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To dislike the taste of food or drink: 1586, in T. Bright's Treatise of Melancholie.[2][4] The noun, dislike of food or drink, is dated 1584 by Merriam-Webster Unabridged,[4] and 1598, in Florio's Italian dictionary, by the OED.[2]

Semantic evolution

The verb started with the mouth and within about a decade was used of the mind.[2] By 1597 Bacon used it for displeasing someone, and by 1599 J. Davies used it for feeling a mental aversion.[2] Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida (1609) has it for spoiling a flavour, and Othello for poisons that at first scarcely offend the taste.[2][6] The noun took on the senses of annoyance (1602), of offence (1608) and of a quarrel or estrangement between people (1621), all now dead.[2][6] Johnson (1755) still gave "aversion of the palate" first, then "dislike; uneasiness", then "anger; alienation of affection".[9] Today the literal sense of the noun is rare or obsolete,[2][6] and what remains is a dislike that the OED and the Shorter Oxford describe as moderate or mild.[2][6] The verb has itself become rare or archaic.[6][10][4]

Timeline

  • 1586 – verb, to dislike the taste of (obsolete by 1661).[2][4] Etymonline dates the verb to the 1580s.[3]
  • 1597 – verb, to displease or offend.[2]
  • 1598 – noun, dislike of food or drink; also dislike in general.[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates the first of these to 1584,[4] and Etymonline dates the noun to the 1590s.[3]
  • 1599 – verb, to regard with aversion.[2]
  • 1602 – noun, unpleasantness, discomfort (obsolete by 1711).[2]
  • 1608 – noun, offence or a cause of offence (obsolete by 1731).[2]
  • 1609 – verb, to spoil the taste of (obsolete by 1650).[2]
  • 1611 – verb, to offend the taste of, to nauseate (obsolete by 1678).[2]
  • 1621 – noun, mutual aversion, a quarrel (obsolete by 1697).[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Dislike or mild aversion; a lack of pleasure in something: He has a distaste for crowded parties.[10][4][6]
  2. (rare) Dislike of food or drink; nausea or a bad taste in the mouth.[2][6][4]
  3. (obsolete, 1602–1711) Unpleasantness, discomfort.[2][6][4]
  4. (obsolete, 1608–1731) Offence, or a cause of offence.[2][6][4]
  5. (obsolete, 1621–97) Mutual aversion or estrangement; a quarrel.[2][6][4]

Verb

  1. (archaic) To feel repugnance for; to dislike.[10][4][6]
  2. (archaic) To displease or offend.[4][6][2]
  3. (obsolete, 1586–1661) To dislike the taste of.[2][4][6]
  4. (obsolete, 1609–50) To spoil the taste of; to make unsavoury.[2][4][6]
  5. (obsolete, 1611–78) To offend the taste of; to nauseate.[2][4][6]

Word family

  • distasteful

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  10. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Distaste.” Etymologically, 6 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/distaste. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

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