foretaste

noun

"foretaste" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“foretaste” is uncommon English (frequency #85,260 among 2,507 “F” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#85,260
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A taste beforehand.

Corpus desk

Index EN-foretaste · foretaste · English

foretaste · rank #85,260 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #85,260
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH foremen

Nearest frequency peer: foremen (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “foretaste”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “foretaste” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for foretaste
PropertyValue
Headwordforetaste
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters9
Frequency rank#85,260
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “foretaste” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).foretastefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “foremen” (#85,259), “formwork” (#85,261), “forefoot” (#85,258). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “foretaste” is #85,260. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

foretaste is uncommon English at frequency #85,260 among 2,507 “F” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for foretaste, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English fortaste, equivalent to fore- + taste (noun). The correct English form is foretaste, spelled F-O-R-E-T-A-S-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A taste beforehand.
  2. 2
    A sample taken in anticipation; an experience undergone in advance.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how foretaste appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. When she sang in the kirk, folk have told me that they had a foretaste of the musick of the New Jerusalem, and when she came in by the village of Caulds old men stottered to their doors to look at her.

Etymology

From Middle English fortaste, equivalent to fore- + taste (noun).

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "foretaste"?
"foretaste" is spelled F-O-R-E-T-A-S-T-E.
What does "foretaste" mean?
As a noun, "foretaste" means: A taste beforehand.
What is the origin of the word "foretaste"?
From Middle English fortaste, equivalent to fore- + taste (noun). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "foretaste", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list