"Tout," on the other hand, has a far more roundabout origin. The prehistoric Germanic root of "tout" meant "something that pokes out," especially "a funnel or spout." From this rather vague beginning, the word gradually shifted its meaning by the 18th century from "something that pokes out" to mean "someone who pokes into things" -- in other words, a spy. A "racing tout" was a spy who surreptitiously observed the training of racehorses in the hope of gleaning valuable information which could then be sold to bookmakers. In many cases, the "tout" and the bookmaker were one and the same, and racetracks were usually rife with platoons of "touts," each claiming to have inside information on the condition of the horses. Over time, the verb "to tout" came to mean "loudly promoting one's business or product," especially in an annoying fashion.
