garša

From an old verb *gart (“to heat, to grow hot”) ( > “to steam”; cf. garot (“to steam”)), from the same stem as gars (“spirit; vapor, steam”) and gards (“delicious”) (q.v.), with an extra suffix -tya: *gar-tya- > garša.

The original meaning was probably “steaming, steam,” from which “sharp, pungent smell, (smoke) stink” (a meaning still attested in the 1870's) > “sharp, hot taste” > “taste (in general).” Only by the end of the 19th century was this word's meaning restricted to “taste” alone. (A minority opinion suggests that garša is actually derived from gards (“delicious”), with an unexpected š instead of the regular ž (< *d) because of the influence of the variant smarša of smarža (“smell, odor”).)^[1]

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garša f (4th declension)

1. (sense) taste (the capacity to perceive flavors)

   garšas nervi ― taste, gustatory nerves

   par abinieku ožu, tāpat kā par to garšu, nav vēl īstas skaidrības ― about the (senses of) smell and taste of amphibians, there is no real explanation (i.e., little is known) yet

2. taste, flavor (the sensation created by certain substances in the mouth: salty, bitter, sweet, acid)

   salda, rūgta garša ― sweet, bitter taste

   patīkama garša ― pleasant taste

   maizes, medus garša ― bread, honey taste

   sajust nelabu garšu mutē ― to feel a bad taste in the mouth

   ēst ar garšu ― to eat with pleasure (lit. with taste)

   viela bez smakas un bez garšas ― a substance without smell and without taste

   pēc sēklas garšas atšķir saldās un rūgtās mandeles ― by the taste of the seeds one distinguishes the sweet from the bitter almonds

   jaunas garšas meklējot ― on the quest for new flavors

3. (dated, nowadays mostly gaume, q.v.) taste (aesthetic and cultural discernment, the sense of what is aesthetically or culturally better)

   viņš bija cilvēks pēc Hildegardis kundzes garšas ― he was a person by (= who pleased) Mrs Hildegards' taste

5=d
6=d

• garšošana
• (of "aesthetic and cultural discernment"): gaume

• garšot
• garšīgs, garšīgums

• The five senses (piecas maņas):
  redze - dzirde - oža - garša - tauste

• The basic tastes (pamatgaršas):
  salds - rūgts - skābs - sāļš