Flavour

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. The distinctive taste or aroma experienced when consuming something ; a taste or aroma that is intentionally added to enhance food or drink ; a specific style, character, or atmosphere associated with something
2. The sensory impression of a food or beverage as perceived by taste or smell ; a substance introduced to impart a particular taste or aroma ; the unique mood or quality that defines something's nature
3. The combination of taste and smell that gives food or drink its unique identity ; an additive used to give a desired taste or scent ; the characteristic feeling or impression something has in a particular context

Etymology: The most surprising thing about this word is that it once meant nothing more refined than a smell. Middle English "flavour" meant "smell, odour", usually a pleasing one, and it was borrowed from Old French "flaour" with the same sense. The Old French word goes back to Vulgar Latin "flātor", meaning "odour, that which blows", which is itself from Latin "flātor", a "blower", from "flāre", "to blow or puff". That origin is a little literal. The idea was that a scent is something carried on the breath or the wind, so the word described the thing that drifts toward you. Its roots run back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to blow", and it is a doublet of "blow" and "bleat", words that share that ancestry but reached English by different routes. Over time the sense narrowed from smell to taste, and then widened again to cover the character or atmosphere of a thing. The word moved from the air you breathe to the flavour on your tongue and finally to the quality something seems to have.

Synonyms: taste, savor, essence, aroma, spice

Antonyms: blandness, insipidity