taunt

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /tɔːnt/
• Rhymes: -ɔːnt
• (some accents) IPA^(key): /tɑːnt/
• Rhymes: -ɑːnt
• (US) IPA^(key): /tɔnt/
• (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /tɑnt/

Middle French tanter (“to tempt, try, provoke”), variant of Old French tempter (“to try”)

taunt (third-person singular simple present taunts, present participle taunting, simple past and past participle taunted)

1. to make fun of (someone); to goad (a person) into responding, often in an aggressive manner.

taunt (plural taunts)

1. A scornful or mocking remark; a jeer or mockery

Compare Old French tant (“so great”), French tant (“so much”), Latin tantus (“of such size, so great, so much”). See ataunt.

taunt (comparative more taunt, superlative most taunt)

1. (nautical) Very high or tall.

   a ship with taunt masts

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Totten to this entry?)

• taunt at OneLook Dictionary Search
• taunt in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.