O guście ze smakiem – czyli kiedy i dlaczego wyraz gust utracił w polszczyźnie znaczenie zmysłowe

Abstract

ABOUT GOOD TASTE (POLISH: GUST) AND DELICIOUS TASTE (POLISH: SMAK): IN OTHER WORDS: WHY THE POLISH WORD GUST LOST ITS ETYMOLOGICAL MEANING The word gust was borrowed from Western European Languages in 17th century in a few meanings, including perception of taste and flavour of food and appetite. The author of this article discusses the very etymological meaning of the word gust and also words derived from it: the adjective gustowny and adverb gustownie. The author presents the reasons why this etymological meaning disappeared from Polish language, which is compared in the context of the synonymic Polish word smak and other borrowings with the core of word (-gust-). The article discusses the etymology and history of the Polish word gust along with the examples of its exact meaning found in texts from 17th and 18th centuries, especially in cookbooks. The article also explains the semantic evolution of gust. In order to achieve her objective, the author used historical dictionaries, descriptions of cultural changes associated with the French idea of bon goût, and also linguistic descriptions concerning semantic changes of the lexis of taste evolving into their metaphorical meanings. This article underlines the evolution of the meaning of the Polish words gust and smak during the past centuries.