taste

[[t]teɪst[/t]]

v. tast•ed, tast•ing, n.

1) phl to test the flavor or quality of by taking some into the mouth

2) to eat or drink a little of

3) to eat or drink:

He hadn't tasted food for three days[/ex]

4) phl to perceive or distinguish the flavor of:

to taste the wine in a sauce[/ex]

5) to experience, esp. to only a slight degree

6) archaic to enjoy or appreciate

7) to try the flavor or quality of something

8) to eat or drink a little (usu. fol. by of)

9) phl to perceive or distinguish the flavor of anything

10) to have a particular flavor:

The coffee tastes bitter[/ex]

11) to have experience, however limited (usu. fol. by of):

to taste of victory even in defeat[/ex]

12) phl the sense by which the flavor or savor of things is perceived when they are brought into contact with the tongue

13) phl the sensation or quality as perceived by this sense; flavor

14) the act of tasting food or drink

15) a small quantity tasted

16) a relish, liking, or partiality for something:

a taste for music[/ex]

17) a sense of what is fitting, harmonious, or beautiful

18) a sense of what is polite, tactful, etc., to say or do in a given social situation

19) one's attitude toward or display of aesthetic or social values, regarded as good or bad:

elegant taste in clothes; jokes in poor taste[/ex]

20) the ideas or preferences typical of a culture or an individual in regard to what is beautiful or harmonious:

a sample of Victorian taste[/ex]

21) a slight experience of something:

a taste of adventure[/ex]

22) a feeling or sensation resulting from an experience:

a compromise that had left her with a bad taste[/ex]

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Etymology: 1250–1300; ME: to touch, taste < OF taster to touch, explore by touching < VL *tastāre, prob. by contr. from *taxitāre, freq. of L taxāre to handle (see tax) tast′a•ble, taste′a•ble, adj.