Flavourless

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Devoid of any unique taste or enjoyable sensation on the palate
2. Referring to food or beverages that lack any distinctive taste or sensory appeal
3. Having no distinctive or enjoyable taste or smell to the senses

Etymology: "Flavourless" is a plain compound: the adjective "flavour" with the suffix "-less", meaning "without". The suffix traces back through Old English "-lēas" (related to "loose" and "lose") to Proto-Germanic, where it meant "free of" or "lacking", and it has been attached to nouns in English ever since, so "flavourless" describes anything lacking a taste. The more interesting history lies in the first half. "Flavour" came into Middle English as "flavour", inflected from Old French "flaor", and ultimately from Vulgar Latin "*flātor", a blowing or breathing, related to Latin "flō", to blow. The original sense was of a smell or odour carried on the air, and taste was added later. That origin explains why the word once suggested scent as much as flavour, a sense that survives in the older English idea of a "flavour" as an aroma.

Synonyms: bland, tasteless, insipid, unseasoned, plain

Antonyms: flavorful, tasty, spicy, savory, zesty