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" (cognates: 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 (such as 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.