praegustare

Praegustare is a Latin verb meaning to taste beforehand or to sample in advance. It is formed from the prefix prae- meaning before, combined with gustāre, to taste. The word belongs to the first conjugation and follows the regular patterns of praegustō, praegustāre, praegustāvī, praegustātum. The infinitive is praegustāre, and the principal parts are typically listed as praegustō, praegustāre, praegustāvī, praegustātum.

In usage, praegustāre denotes tasting or sampling something prior to a later action, such as a meal, a ceremonial offering, or the evaluation of a remedy or dish. It can also be used figuratively to describe previewing, pretesting, or preassessing ideas, plans, or proposals before taking final steps. The verb takes a direct object in the accusative when referring to what is tasted (for example, praegustāre cibum, to taste the food).

Typical morphological forms include the present indicative praegustō, praegustās, praegustat, praegustāmus, praegustātis, praegustant; imperfect praegustabām, praegustabās, and so on; perfect praegustāvī, with the supine praegustātum. The infinitive is praegustāre, and passive forms are theoretically possible but rarely needed in Latin.

Related terms include gustus (taste) and gustātiō or praegustātiō, a noun form referring to a tasting beforehand. Praegustare thus occupies a specialized niche in Latin vocabulary for concepts of pre-tasting or pre-examination of offerings, dishes, or proposals.