goûter French · revision 17532

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1130, Eneas|origins=la gustus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɡu.te/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''goûter'''^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|goster]], [[m|fro|guster]];^(GLLF 1989)^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary) Middle French ''gouster'';^(GLLF 1989)^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary) ''goûter'' from the 17th century.^(GLLF 1989)^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)

+ In the reformed spelling also ''gouter''.^(Larousse)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|goster]], [[inh|la|gustō|t=to taste; to have a snack]], from [[m|la|gustus|t=taste]] (see [[goût]]).^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|4, 340a) Bloch and Wartburg note that the sense “to have a light meal” already existed in classical Latin, though it is rare in the dialects.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The learned [[déguster]] comes from the prefixed Latin verb.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|gustare]], [[es|gustar]], [[pt|gostar]] and [[oc|gostar]].^(Littré 1873)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ ''Eneas'' (about 1130) has ''goster'' with ''de''; in Wace (1155) ''guster de'' means to eat or taste a little of something.^(GLLF 1989)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Figurative uses developed in the 15th century: Chastellain uses it for feeling or appreciating (late 15th century), and Commynes has ''se gouster'' for two people who like each other (about 1500).^(TLFi) Robert Estienne records in 1538 the sense “to have a light meal in the afternoon”, and Montaigne (1580) uses it for trying something for the first time.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989) Under the influence of the noun [[goût]], it came to mean “to find to one's taste, approve”, a literary use today.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ The infinitive used as a noun, ''le goûter'', the afternoon snack, is also from Estienne (1538); Richelet (1680) calls it popular, the court saying ''collation''.^(TLFi) In Belgium and Quebec ''goûter'' also means “to taste of” and “to please”.^(Wiktionary)^(BHVF)^(Larousse)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1130 – ''Goster de'', in ''Eneas''.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1155 – ''Guster'', in Wace.^(TLFi)

+ * Late 15th century – “To feel, appreciate”, in Chastellain.^(TLFi)

+ * 1538 – “To have an afternoon snack”, and the noun ''goûter'', in Robert Estienne.^(TLFi)

+ * 1580 – “To try for the first time”, in Montaigne.^(TLFi)

+ * 1680 – Richelet calls the noun popular.^(TLFi)

+ * 1859 – Belgian ''ça te goûte ?'' “does that suit you?”.^(BHVF)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|taste]], try (a little of something) to judge its flavour: ''goûter une sauce''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)

+ # To enjoy, savour (a sensation or feeling): ''goûter le calme d'un lieu''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)

+ # ''(literary)'' To like, [[m|en|appreciate]]: ''je goûte vivement la poésie''.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''Goûter à, goûter de'': to taste, try for the first time.^(Larousse)^(TLFi)

+ # ''(intransitive)'' To have an afternoon [[m|en|snack]].^(TLFi)^(Larousse)

+ # ''(Belgium, Quebec)'' To taste of, ''(Belgium)'' to please.^(Wiktionary)^(Larousse)^(BHVF)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # An afternoon snack, especially children's, between lunch and dinner: ''l'heure du goûter''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[dégoûter]]

+ * [[goûteur]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[goût]]

+ * [[déguster]]

+ * [[la|gustō]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}