Pregustation

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act of tasting food or drink briefly in advance or having an early experience of something
2. To sample or try something before fully encountering it or to have a preliminary impression of an event or feeling
3. Experiencing a sensation or event in a limited way before the full occurrence, such as tasting a dish before serving

Etymology: "Pregustation" is a plain formation: the prefix "pre-", meaning "before," attached to "gustation," the act or sense of tasting. "Gustation" itself comes from the Latin "gustatio," a noun built on "gustare," "to taste," and it has been used in English for the sense of taste as a faculty and the act of tasting. Putting the two together gives a literal sense of "a tasting that comes beforehand," which is exactly what the modern meaning describes: a small, anticipatory sample of something before it arrives in full.