Etymology Explorer › Middle High German

Where does “tasten” come from?

tasten (Middle High German) 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

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

Words derived from “tasten”

  • betaaschten
  • taaschten
Every word from Proto-Indo-European speḱ- →