# taster
## English
### Etymology

From Middle English taster; equivalent to taste +‎ -er.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /teɪstɚ/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)
* Rhymes: -eɪstə(ɹ)

### Noun

taster (plural tasters)
* An object in which, or by which, food or drink is tasted, such as a small cup.
    A flight of tasters was served to the people who would vote on the next soda flavor to be released.
* Someone who tastes something; especially, either (1) to check its quality (in food science, winemaking, etc.) or (2) as a security measure to prevent assassination of a protectee.
    Hypernym: tester
    Big companies such as P&G or Kraft Heinz employ or contract with professional tasters who help with product development.
    Being a cook for protectees also entails being a taster for them.
** 1693, Decimus Junius Juvenalis, John Dryden, transl., “[The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis.] The Sixth Satyr”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […] Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC:Thy tutor be thy taster, ere thou eat
* (zoology) A kind of zooid situated on the polyp-stem of certain Siphonophorae, resembling the feeding zooids, but destitute of mouths.
* A sample of something bigger or grander intended for future use.
    The Kraft Heinz exhibit at the trade fair was a taster of new snack products set to hit the market soon.
    The Samsung exhibit at the trade fair was a taster of new consumer electronic products set to hit the market soon.
* A person who is, by genetic makeup, able to taste phenylthiocarbamide.
    Antonym: nontaster

#### Derived terms

* ale-taster
* supertaster
* winetaster

#### Related terms

* tastebuds
* tasting (noun)
* winetasting (noun)

#### Translations
### Anagrams

* Rattes, Satter, Strate, Treats, at rest, atters, ratest, rattes, stater, tarest, taters, tetras, treats

## Danish
### Etymology 1

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

#### Noun

taster
* indefinite plural of tast

### Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

#### Verb

taster
* present of taste

## Middle French
### Etymology

From Old French taster, from a late Vulgar Latin *tastāre, from contraction of *taxitāre, iterative of Late Latin taxāre, from Classical Latin tangō (“I touch”). Compare Catalan and Occitan tastar, Italian tastare.

### Verb

taster
* to grope; to feel, touch
* to taste

#### Conjugation

* Middle French conjugation varies from one text to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.

#### Derived terms

* tasteur
* tastonner

#### Descendants

* French: tâter

## Norwegian Bokmål
### Noun

taster m
* indefinite plural of tast

### Verb

taster
* present of taste

## Old French
### Etymology

From a late Vulgar Latin *tastāre, from contraction of *taxitāre, iterative of Late Latin taxāre, from Classical Latin tangō (“I touch”). Compare Catalan and Occitan tastar, Italian tastare.

### Verb

taster
* to taste
* to touch
* to hit; to strike

#### Conjugation

This verb conjugates as a first-group verb ending in -er. The forms that would normally end in *-sts, *-stt are modified to z, st. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.

#### Synonyms

* (to hit, to strike): ferir, fraper

#### Descendants

* → English: taste
* French: tâter

### References

* Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX$^e$ au XV$^e$ siècle (1881) (taster)