Where does “tasten” come from?
tasten (Middle Dutch) comes from Old French taster, from Vulgar Latin tastare, from Latin taxāre, from Latin Taxus, from Ancient Greek εἶδος, from Spanish -scopio, from Latin -scopium, from Ancient Greek σκοπέω — to see, to look, to observe.
Ancestry of “tasten”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | taster | to taste; to touch; to hit; to strike |
| 2 | Vulgar Latin | tastare | to touch, feel; present active infinitive of... |
| 3 | Latin | taxāre | — |
| 4 | Latin | Taxus | yew |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | εἶδος | That which is seen: form, image, shape;... |
| 6 | Spanish | -scopio | -scope |
| 7 | Latin | -scopium | — |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | σκοπέω | I look, look at, behold; I examine, inspect; 413... |
| 9 | Ancient Greek | σκοπός | watcher, lookout; protector, guardian; spy, scout |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | σκέπτομαι | I look at, examine; I examine, consider, think |
| 11 | Proto-Hellenic | sképťomai | to look at |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | spéḱyeti | to be looking at, to keep looking at |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | speḱ- | to see, to look, to observe |