taste English · revision 3748

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1290|origins=la-vul *tastāre}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /teɪst/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The verb is [[inh|enm|tasten|t=to touch, examine by touch; to taste]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|taster|t=to feel, touch; to taste]] (French tâter),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la-vul|*tastāre]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) apparently an alteration of *taxitāre, a frequentative of [[la|taxāre|t=to evaluate, handle]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) perhaps under the influence of [[m|la|gustāre|t=to taste]].^(Etymonline) Hoad and the Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins take the Romance verb instead as a blend of [[m|la|tangere|t=to touch]] and gustāre.^(Hoad 1986)^(Cresswell 2021)^(NODE 1998) The noun is from Old French tast “touch”, from the verb.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It is related to [[tax]] and [[task]].^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To try or examine by touch, to feel: about 1290 in the OED, now obsolete;^(OED 1989) the noun “sense of touch” is from 1292.^(OED 1989) Etymonline dates the verb to about 1300 as “to perceive the flavour of”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ When first found the word also meant “touch”.^(Cresswell 2021) Of experience, as of bliss or bitterness, it is from the early 14th century,^(Etymonline) and “to exercise the sense of taste” from the late 14th.^(Etymonline) “To have a certain flavour” is from the 1550s, displacing the native verb [[smack]].^(Etymonline) The noun's “small portion”, “flavour” and “the sense of taste” are from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) as is “liking, inclination”.^(Etymonline) Aesthetic judgment, discernment of what is excellent, is from the mid-15th century in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) but first recorded by Barnhart in Milton's ''Paradise Regained'' (1671);^(Barnhart 1988) French goût, German Geschmack and Russian vkus took the same path.^(Etymonline) [[tasty]] is from 1617.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1290 – to examine by touch.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1292 – noun, the sense of touch.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1300 – to perceive the flavour of.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 14th century – flavour; the sense of taste; liking.^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-15th century – aesthetic judgment.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1550s – to have a flavour.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1617 – ''tasty''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1671 – aesthetic judgment, in Milton.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The sense that perceives [[flavour]] through the tongue.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The flavour of something.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A small amount tasted; a brief experience: ''a taste of fame''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A liking or preference.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The ability to judge what is beautiful or fitting; [[discernment]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To perceive or test the flavour of.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To eat or drink a small amount of.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To have a particular flavour: ''it tastes of lemon''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To experience, especially for the first time.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[tastable]]

+ * [[tasteless]]

+ * [[tasty]]

+ * [[aftertaste]]

+ * [[distaste]]

+ * [[foretaste]]

+ * [[pretaste]]

+ * [[tasteful]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[tax]]

+ * [[task]]

+ * [[gusto]]

+ * [[disgust]]

+ * [[smack]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The Century Dictionary contrasted taste, which is active and chooses, with sensibility, which is passive, the power to feel.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}