An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/tasten

by Friedrich Kluge

tasten, verb, ‘to touch, fumble, grope,’ from the equivalent Middle High German tasten, weak verb. Borrowed about 1200 A.D. from the Romance cognate Italian tastare (French tâter), ‘to feel, fumble,’ which is based on a Latin *taxitare (allied to late Latin taxare, ‘to touch sharply’).