From Middle English tasten, borrowed from Old French taster, from assumed Vulgar Latin *tastāre, from assumed Vulgar Latin, a new iterative of Latin taxo ("to touch sharply"), from tango. Almost displaced native Middle English smaken (from Old English smacian), Middle English smecchen (from Old English smæċċan) (whence Modern English smack), Middle English buriȝen (from Old English byrigan).
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