gust

Meanings

Noun

• A strong, abrupt rush of wind.
• Any rush or outburst (of water, emotion, etc.).
• The physiological faculty of taste.
• Relish, enjoyment, appreciation.
• Intellectual taste; fancy.

Verb

• To blow in gusts.
• To taste.
• To have a relish for.

Origin

• Apparently from an unrecorded Middle English *gust, from Old Norse gustr, from Proto-Germanic *gustiz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰew-. Related to Old Norse gusa, Old High German gussa, Middle English guschen (> English gush).
• The English word was not recorded before Shakespeare.
• From Middle English gust, guste, from Latin gustus and Old French gust, goust.
• From Middle English gusten, from the noun (see above)).