'taunter' ultimately derives from the verb 'taunt,' which entered English from Middle English (late Old French influence). The verb 'taunt' is recorded in Middle English as 'taunten' or 'taunten,' influenced by Old French forms such as 'tanter'/'tenter', themselves from Latin 'tentare' meaning 'to try' or 'to feel'.

'taunt' changed from Latin 'tentare' to Old French 'tenter'/'tanter' and then into Middle English as 'taunten/taunten', eventually producing the modern English verb 'taunt' and the agent noun 'taunter'.

Originally related to the Latin sense 'to try' or 'to test,' the word shifted in Old French and Middle English toward senses of teasing, provoking, or reproaching; in modern English it means to mock or jeer (and 'taunter' is 'one who taunts').