taste
UK: teɪst | US: teɪst
n. the sensation of flavor perceived in the mouth when eating or drinking
n. a person's liking for particular flavors or types of food
vt. to perceive or test the flavor of something by eating or drinking it
vi. to have a specified flavor (e.g., "This soup tastes salty.")
taste = tast<to touch, test> + e (inflectional suffix)
- tast (from Old French taster, meaning "to touch, test, or sample")
- e (a common Middle English verb-ending inflection, now dropped in modern spelling)
Etymology Origin:
The word taste originates from Old French taster ("to touch, test, or sample"), which itself derived from Vulgar Latin tastare, likely influenced by Latin taxare ("to evaluate"). Initially, it referred to physically testing something (e.g., food or objects) before evolving to specifically denote flavor perception by the 14th century. The shift from tactile testing to sensory evaluation reflects the word’s logical progression in describing experiential judgment.
The wine has a rich, fruity taste.
She has a sophisticated taste in art.
Taste the soup to see if it needs more salt.
This candy tastes like strawberries.
His rude comment left a bad taste in my mouth.