foretaste

noun, verb — 5 senses

foretaste

noun

Etymology From Middle English fortaste, equivalent to fore- + taste (noun).

1

A taste beforehand.

2

A sample taken in anticipation; an experience undergone in advance.

When she sang in the kirk, folk have told me that they had a foretaste of the musick of the New Jerusalem, and when she came in by the village of Caulds old men stottered to their doors to look at her.1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:
About two weeks ago I had another foretaste of success and immediately on it a veritable disaster.1923, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], “(please specify the page)”, in The Eyes of Max Carrados, London: Grant Richards, →OCLC:

Synonyms: foresmack, pregustation
Related terms: aftertaste

foretaste

verb

Etymology From Middle English fortasten, equivalent to fore- + taste (verb).

1

To taste beforehand.

2

To taste before possession; have previous experience of; enjoy by anticipation.

3

To taste before another.

[...] foretast'd fruit, Profan'd first by the serpent [...]1667, John Milton, Paradise lost:

Derived terms: foretaster

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.