pousse-café

[poos-ka-fey; French poos-ka-fey]

noun, plural pousse-ca·fés

[poos-ka-feyz; French poos-ka-fey] /ˌpus kæˈfeɪz; French pus kaˈfeɪ/.

an after-dinner drink of liqueurs of various colors and specific gravities, carefully poured into a glass so as to remain floating in separate layers.
a small glass of liqueur served after coffee.

Origin of pousse-café

1875–80; < French: literally, (it) pushes on (the) coffee

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

British Dictionary definitions for pousse-cafe

pousse-café

noun

a drink of liqueurs of different colours in unmixed layers
any liqueur taken with coffee at the end of a meal

Word Origin for pousse-café

literally: coffee-pusher

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