veekogust

Veekogust is a neologism used in discussions of cross-sensory perception and design to describe a taste-like quality that can be triggered by non-gustatory stimuli, or used as a metaphor to convey the flavor of a product, text, or experience. In its broad sense, veekogust refers to the attribution of gustatory character to visual, auditory, or conceptual inputs, without implying actual tasting.

Origin and etymology: The term is a modern coinage, combining gust, from Latin gustus, with a phonetic prefix veeko- whose precise origin varies by author. It first appeared in online discussions in the early 2010s and has since circulated in design blogs and speculative cognitive science writing. There is no single authoritative definition.

Usage: In linguistics, veekogust is used to describe metaphorical taste language that conveys evaluation (for example, this prose has a sharp veekogust). In design and branding, it is used to describe a sensory branding strategy where color, typography, and sound are chosen to evoke a particular gustatory sensation. In fiction, it functions as a world-building device to describe a culture that experiences taste as a sense dimension in communication.

Examples: A menu description might aim for a veekogust of citrus and rain to suggest brightness; a user interface animation might be said to have a veekogust of crisp efficiency.

Reception: The term remains informal and loosely defined; some critics caution about overextension of sensory metaphors.

See also: gustatory metaphor, synesthesia, crossmodal perception, sensory branding.