Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun, plural gus·toes.
- hearty or keen enjoyment, as in eating or drinking, or in action or speech in general: to dance with gusto.
- individual taste or liking: The boy is an imaginative charmer, with a gusto for storytelling.
- Archaic. artistic style or taste.
noun
- vigorous enjoyment, zest, or relish, esp in the performance of an actionthe aria was sung with great gusto
1620s, from Italian gusto “taste,” from Latin gustus “a tasting,” related to gustare “to taste, take a little of,” from PIE root *geus- “to taste, choose” (cf. Sanskrit jus- “enjoy, be pleased,” Avestan zaosa- “pleasure,” Old Persian dauš- “enjoy”), a root that forms words for “taste” in Greek and Latin, but mostly meaning “try” or “choose” in Germanic and Celtic (cf. Old English cosan, cesan “to choose,” Gothic kausjan “to test, to taste of,” Old High German koston “try,” German kosten “taste of”). The semantic development could have been in either direction. In English, guste “organ of taste, sense of taste,” is mid-15c., from French.