I. ˈtāst verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English tasten to touch, examine by touch, test, feel, taste, from Old French taster, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin tastare, alteration of taxitare, freq. of Latin taxare to touch — more at tax
transitive verb
1. obsolete
a. : touch
b. : test
2. : to become acquainted with by experience : gain firsthand knowledge of : feel , undergo
taste … the privations of modern warfare — Earle Birney
tasted the sweet delights of office — J.H.Plumb
3.
a. : to ascertain the flavor of by taking a small quantity into the mouth
tasted the tea and then added more sugar
specifically : to test the quality of (a food or drink) by the taste
taste wine
b. : to test the quality of as if by tasting
the rare ability to taste a sentence before he writes or utters it — E.R.Murrow
4.
a.
(1) : to eat or drink especially in small quantities
the first food he has tasted since yesterday morning
(2) : to experience to a slight extent
having at least tasted these evils — J.C.Powys
b. : to consume a sample of (food or drink prepared for another) in order to test whether poison is present
5. : to perceive, recognize, or experience by or as if by the sense of taste
6. : to impart a flavor to : flavor
7. chiefly dialect : to make a pleasant taste in (the mouth) : please (a person) by an agreeable taste
8. archaic : like , appreciate , enjoy
9. obsolete : to copulate with
10. : smell 1a
intransitive verb
1. : to exercise the sense of taste : distinguish flavors
2.
a.
(1) : to eat or drink a part : eat or drink a little : eat or drink even a little — often used with of
taste of these conserves — Shakespeare
food whereof we wretched seldom taste — John Milton
(2) : to have a limited experience or portion — often used with of
age but tastes of pleasures, youth devours — John Dryden
b. : to consume a sample of food or drink prepared for another and thereby test whether poison is present
3. : to ascertain the flavor or quality of something by or as if by taking a small quantity into the mouth — often used with of
4. : to have perception, experience, or enjoyment : partake — often used with of
taste of nature's bounty
the valiant never taste of death but once — Shakespeare
5.
a. : to have a certain flavor when applied to the taste organs : excite a particular sensation by which the specific quality or flavor is distinguished
the milk tastes sour
a liquid that tastes like vinegar
the salad tastes of garlic
b. : to have a particular quality that is perceived as if by taste
when will life taste clean again — Laurence Binyon
•
- taste blood
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English tast touch, action of touching, testing, tasting, taste, from Old French, from taster
1. obsolete : test
2.
a. obsolete : the act of tasting with or as if with the mouth
b. : a small amount tasted or eaten
c. : a small or tiny amount : bit , sample ; especially : a small sample of an experience
a taste of high life — Robert Westerby
3.
a. : the power of perceiving flavor : gustatory sensation or the capacity for it
b. : the one of the special senses that is concerned with the perception and distinguishing of the sweet, sour, bitter, or salty quality of a dissolved substance, is mediated by the taste buds of the tongue, is conducted centrally by the glossopharyngeal and lingual nerves, and is coordinated especially by centers in the posteroventral nuclei of the thalamus
4. : the objective sweet, sour, bitter, or salty quality of a dissolved substance as perceived by the sense of taste
5.
a. : a sensation produced by the stimulation of the sense of taste : the total blend of sensations that is obtained from a substance in the mouth and that typically consists not only of sensations produced by stimulating the sense of taste but also of sensations produced by stimulating the sense of touch and especially the sense of smell : flavor
the taste of an orange
b. : the distinctive quality of an experience especially with reference to the emotion that it consists of or arouses
the flat taste of another disillusionment — C.J.Rolo
— often used with in one's mouth
his attempt to cheat me left a bad taste in my mouth
6.
a. : individual preference : liking , relish , fondness , inclination
a taste for music
the note of sadness … which the poets were to find so much more to their taste than the note of gladness — Henry Adams
expensive tastes
walking too fast for my taste
all tastes are legitimate, and it is not necessary to account for them — Virgil Thomson
not a historian by training or taste — D.W.Brogan
b. : preference or liking in food or drink
a taste for rare beef
season to taste
7.
a. : the power or practice of discerning and enjoying whatever constitutes excellence especially in the fine arts and belles lettres : critical judgment, discernment, or appreciation
taste is nothing but sensibility to the different degrees and kinds of excellence in the works of art or nature — William Hazlitt
establishing sound canons of literary taste — Encyc. Americana
the laws of taste differ … widely in different nations — W.H.Prescott
well developed and cultivated … musical taste — P.H.Lang
b. : manner indicative of such discernment or appreciation : aesthetic quality : style of artistic production or of any behavior capable of being judged on an aesthetic basis
a pleasant room upstairs, Victorian in its taste — R.M.Stern
the chapters on … courtship and conquest are thoroughly engrossing and written with taste — J.M.Flagler
her book is a minor miracle of … good taste — Lon Tinkle
people who mock educational deficiencies of others show bad taste — David Minsberg
Synonyms:
taste , sapidity , flavor , savor , tang , relish , and smack can signify in common that property of a substance that makes it perceptible to the gustatory sense; taste merely indicates the property
the taste of cherries
the taste of castor oil
there was the cold taste of fear in his mouth — Gordon Merrick
sapidity implies a highly perceptible taste as opposed to blandness
cook all sapidity out of the food
flavor suggests both taste and smell acting together
the flavor of coffee
the tart flavor of quinces
the strong flavor of ripe muskmelons
savor usually stresses a sensitivity of palate in detection of flavor, especially delicate or pervasive
the savor of roast pheasant and a good dry wine
the savor of aristocracy about a man
tang applies chiefly to a sharp, penetrating, often pungent, savor, flavor, or odor
the tang of outdoor cooking
the tang of saltwater spray — Frank Waters
relish and smack are close to savor and usually connote enjoyment, smack often suggesting a flavor that is added to or different from one characteristic of a substance
the relish of wine — David Hume †1776
a smack of pepper in a stew
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: origin unknown
: a narrow thin silk ribbon