goût

Goût is a French noun (masculine) with several related meanings centered on sensation and judgment. It can denote the sense of taste or the flavor of food and drink, the qualitative character of a substance as perceived by that sense, and, more broadly, a person’s aesthetic or personal preferences, especially in art, fashion, or design.

Etymology: The word comes from Old French gout or goût, ultimately from Latin gustus, from gustare, to taste.

Biology and gastronomy: In physiology, goût relates to gustation, the sensory process that detects chemical stimuli in the mouth. Taste buds on the tongue contain receptors that respond to different compounds. Traditional taxonomy lists five basic tastes—sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami—though flavor results from an interplay of taste, aroma, texture, and temperature.

Usage and expressions: In culinary contexts, goût describes flavor or flavor profile, as in goût prononcé or goût sucré. In social and cultural language, the phrase avoir du goût means to have good taste, while mauvais goût denotes bad taste; un goût prononcé describes a strong or distinctive preference. The word also applies to aesthetics: un goût pour les arts, la musique, ou le design, and expressions such as bon goût and mauvais goût signal evaluative judgments.