gustation
/ɡʌˈsteɪʃ(ə)n
/noun [mass noun] formal
The action or faculty of tasting.Recent findings on the sensitivity of primate olfaction and gustation to ethanol are consistent with this notion....
- The receptors involved in gustation are found in specialized ‘end-organs’ called taste buds.
- However, gustation refers only to the sensations of sweet, sour, salty, savory, and bitter, and thus the pleasant ‘taste’ to which we refer is actually a pleasant odor sensed retronasally.
Derivatives
gustative
/ adjective ...- In the pond, fresh-water shrimp and scorpion beetles devour the unhappy wayfarer, and their nearest kin, with equal gustative relish.
- Given the gustative rewards that result from understanding the science of cooking, and its importance to the food industry, this keen interest is not surprising.
Origin
Late 16th century: from Latin gustatio(n-), from gustare 'to taste', from gustus 'taste'.