taste
- taste
{{11}}taste (n.) c.1300, "act of tasting," from O.Fr. tast (Mod.Fr. tát), from taster (see TASTE (Cf. taste) (v.)). Meaning "faculty or sense by which flavor of a thing is discerned" is attested from late 14c. Meaning "savor, sapidity, flavor" is from late 14c. Sense of "aesthetic judgment" is first attested 1670s (Cf. Fr. goût, Ger. geschmack, Rus. vkus, etc.).
Of all the five senses, 'taste' is the one most closely associated with fine discrimination, hence the familiar secondary uses of words for 'taste, good taste' with reference to aesthetic appreciation. [Buck]
{{12}}
taste (
v.) late 13c., "
to touch, to handle," from
O.Fr. taster "
to taste" (13c.), earlier "
to feel, touch" (12c.), from
V.L. *tastare, apparently an alteration of
taxtare, a frequentative form of
L. taxare "
evaluate, handle" (see
TAX (
Cf. tax)). Meaning "
to take a little food or drink" is from
c.1300; that of "
to perceive by sense of taste" is recorded from mid-14c. Of substances, "
to have a certain taste or flavor," it is attested from 1550s (replaced native
SMACK (
Cf. smack) (
n.1) in this sense). For another
PIE root in this sense, see
GUSTO (
Cf. gusto).
The Hindus recognized six principal varieties of taste with sixty-three possible mixtures ... the Greeks eight .... These included the four that are now regarded as fundamental, namely 'sweet,' 'bitter,' 'acid,' 'salt.' ... The others were 'pungent' (Gk. drimys, Skt. katuka-), 'astringent' (Gk. stryphnos, Skt. kasaya-), and, for the Greeks, 'rough, harsh' (austeros), 'oily, greasy' (liparos), with the occasional addition of 'winy' (oinodes). [Buck]
Taste buds is from 1879; also taste goblets.
Etymology dictionary.
2014.
:
Look at other dictionaries:
Taste — (or, more formally, gustation) is a form of direct chemoreception and is one of the traditional five senses. It refers to the ability to detect the flavor of substances such as food and poisons. In humans and many other vertebrate animals the… … Wikipedia
taste — n 1 Taste, flavor, savor, tang, relish, smack can all mean the property of a substance which makes it perceptible to the gustatory sense. Taste not only is the most inclusive of these terms but it gives no suggestion of a specific character or… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
Taste — Taste, n. 1. The act of tasting; gustation. [1913 Webster] 2. A particular sensation excited by the application of a substance to the tongue; the quality or savor of any substance as perceived by means of the tongue; flavor; as, the taste of an… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Taste — Pays d’origine Cork, Irlande Genre musical Rock Années d activité 1966 1970 2 … Wikipédia en Français
taste — [tāst] vt. tasted, tasting [ME tasten < OFr taster, to handle, touch, taste < VL * tastare, prob. < * taxitare, freq. of L taxare, to feel, touch sharply, judge of, freq. of tangere: see TACT] 1. Obs. to test by touching 2. to test the… … English World dictionary
Taste — belongs to our chemical sensing system, or the chemosenses. The complicated process of tasting begins when molecules released by the substances stimulate special cells in the mouth or throat. These special sensory cells transmit messages through… … Medical dictionary
Taste — Datos generales Origen Irlanda Información artística Género(s) Rhythm Blues Blues Rock … Wikipedia Español
taste — [n1] flavor of some quality aftertaste, aroma, bang*, bitter, drive, ginger, jolt, kick*, oomph*, palatableness, piquancy, punch*, relish, salt, sapidity, sapor, savor, savoriness, smack, sour, sting*, suggestion, sweet, tang*, wallop, zest,… … New thesaurus
Taste — (t[=a]st), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Tasted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Tasting}.] [OE. tasten to feel, to taste, OF. taster, F. tater to feel, to try by the touch, to try, to taste, (assumed) LL. taxitare, fr. L. taxare to touch sharply, to estimate. See… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Taste — Taste, v. i. 1. To try food with the mouth; to eat or drink a little only; to try the flavor of anything; as, to taste of each kind of wine. [1913 Webster] 2. To have a smack; to excite a particular sensation, by which the specific quality or… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
taste — ► NOUN 1) the sensation of flavour perceived in the mouth on contact with a substance. 2) the faculty of perceiving this. 3) a small portion of food or drink taken as a sample. 4) a brief experience of something. 5) a person s liking for… … English terms dictionary
