Taunt
/tɔːnt/noun
To mock or insult someone in a provoking way, or a mocking remark.
Did you know?The word is often linked to Old French *tant* (“so much”), but its exact path is uncertain; by the 1500s, English had firmly turned it into a term for biting, provocative mockery.
Etymological Timeline
Late Middle English
English
taunten
“to mock, jeer at, or provoke with words”
Old French
OF
taunter
“to mock or reproach”
Late Latin
LL
tantare
“to try, test, or handle”
Latin
Latin
tentare
“to feel, test, attempt”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ten-
“to stretch, extend”
Explore more surprising origins