affogato

[ ah-faw-gah-toh ]

noun

1. an Italian dessert of vanilla gelato with hot espresso poured over the top.

Word History and Origins

Origin of affogato¹

First recorded in 1990–95; from Italian: literally, “drowned, smothered,” past participle of affogare, from Vulgar Latin affōcāre, Latin offōcāre “to choke, throttle,” equivalent to prefix ob- + -fōcāre, verbal derivative of faucēs “throat, gullet” (plural only), with Vulgar Latin substitution of af- (from ad- ) for Latin of- (from ob- ); af- ( def ), of- ( def ), fauces ( def )