1610s, "without taste or perceptible flavor," from French insipide (16c.), from Late Latin inspidus "tasteless," from Latin in- "not" (see in-(1)) + sapidus "tasty," from sapere "have a taste" (also "be wise;" see sapient). Figurative meaning "uninteresting, dull" first recorded 1640s, but it was also a secondary sense in Medieval Latin.Related: Insipidly.