Palatable

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈpæl.ə.tə.bəl/

Definitions

1. Pleasant or acceptable in taste or quality to most people
2. Satisfactory in flavor or enjoyment while also being acceptable to one's preferences or standards of taste
3. Having a flavor or taste that is agreeable or easy to enjoy ; being acceptable or pleasing to someone's tastes or sensibilities

Etymology: The word is simpler than it looks: "palatable" is "palate" with the suffix "-able" attached, meaning "able to be tasted with pleasure." The palate itself is the roof of the mouth, and the link to flavor comes from the old idea that taste was registered there. The ultimate root is a Proto-Indo-European form, "pleh₂-", reconstructed as a source of the Latin "palātum," meaning roof of the mouth. The Latin "palātum" passed into Old French as "palat," and then into Middle English as "palate." English speakers used "palate" for both the physical roof of the mouth and the faculty of taste, so a food could be described in terms of how it suited the palate. The suffix "-able" has a longer ancestry, running from Latin "-bilis" and "-ābilis," which marked something capable of being acted upon, through Old French "-able" into English. Put together, "palatable" describes food or drink that is agreeable to taste. Its meaning has widened over time: it now also describes ideas, proposals, or outcomes that are acceptable to one's standards, even when no food is involved.

Synonyms: tasty, appetizing

Antonyms: unpalatable, disgusting