pesto
[ pes-toh ]
/ ˈpɛs toʊ /
noun Italian Cookery.
a sauce typically made with basil, pine nuts, olive oil, and grated Parmesan blended together and served hot or cold over pasta, fish, or meat.
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Nearby words
- pestiferously,
- pestilence,
- pestilent,
- pestilential,
- pestle,
- pesty,
- pet,
- pet name,
- pet parent,
- pet peeve
Origin of pesto
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
pesto
/ (ˈpɛstəʊ) /
noun
a sauce for pasta, consisting of basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic, oil, and Parmesan cheese, all crushed together
Word Origin for pesto
Italian, shortened form of pestato, past participle of pestare to pound, crush
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
pesto
olive oil-based pasta sauce, 1937, from Italian pesto, contracted form of pestato, past participle of pestare "to pound, to crush," in reference to the crushed herbs and garlic in it, from Latin root of pestle.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper