# espresso

Pronunciation: say "e-SPRES-oh" US /ɛˈspɹɛsoʊ/, UK /ɛˈspɹɛsəʊ/

## Noun

1. Strong, concentrated coffee made by driving nearly boiling water at high pressure through finely ground, tightly packed coffee.
   - Simple: A strong coffee made by pushing hot water through finely ground coffee under high pressure.
   - _The barista pulled a perfect espresso with a golden layer of crema on top._
   - _Italians often drink an espresso standing at the bar after a meal._
2. A coffee beverage that features espresso combined with other ingredients such as steamed milk, syrup, or cream.
   - Simple: A coffee drink that has espresso mixed into it, like a latte or a mocha.
   - _She picked up a caramel espresso layered with steamed milk on her way to work._
   - _The menu lists half a dozen espressos, each blended with different syrups and toppings._

## Origin

Borrowed from Italian espresso, short for caffè espresso ("pressed-out coffee"), from esprimere ("to press out"), which goes back to Latin exprimere, from ex- ("out") plus primere ("to press"). Some sources instead trace it to the idea of coffee made expressly for the customer, or to the sense of "fast", though these explanations are not widely credited.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/espresso (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).