Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “taster” come from?

Taster comes from English taste, which derives from Old French -er and Latin -are, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European tag-.

taster (English): An object in which, or by which, food or drink is...

Definitions

  1. An object in which, or by which, food or drink is...

Ancestry of “taster”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishtasteOne of the sensations produced by the tongue in...
2Middle EnglishtastenTo taste; To partake in or ingest; To examine by...
3Old Frenchtasterto taste; to touch; to hit; to strike
4Vulgar Latintastareto touch, feel; present active infinitive of...
5Latintaxāre—
6LatinTaxusyew
7Ancient GreekεἶδοςThat which is seen: form, image, shape;...
8Spanish-scopio-scope
9Latin-scopium—
10Ancient GreekσκοπέωI look, look at, behold; I examine, inspect; 413...
11Ancient Greekσκοπόςwatcher, lookout; protector, guardian; spy, scout
12Ancient GreekσκέπτομαιI look at, examine; I examine, consider, think
13Proto-Hellenicsképťomaito look at
14Proto-Indo-Europeanspéḱyetito be looking at, to keep looking at
15Proto-Indo-Europeanspeḱ-to see, to look, to observe

Words derived from “taster”

  • nontaster
  • supertaster
  • winetaster
  • aletaster
  • foretaster
Every word from Proto-Indo-European speḱ- →