To publicly praise or promote something enthusiastically, often in an attempt to sell or gain support for it.
Originally from Middle English 'tuten' meaning 'to stick out' or 'to peer', possibly related to 'toot'. The modern sense of 'promote aggressively' developed in the 18th century, possibly influenced by the image of someone sticking their head out to make announcements.
The evolution of 'tout' from 'sticking out' to 'promoting loudly' captures something essential about marketing - good promotion requires sticking your neck out and making yourself visible! The word's journey mirrors how successful salespeople must literally and figuratively put themselves forward.
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