English Reference

Word

affogato

Phoneticsaf·foga·to

/ˌɑfəˈɡɑtoʊ/

Definition

n. an Italian dessert made by pouring a shot of hot espresso coffee over a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

n. an Italian dessert consisting of a scoop of vanilla gelato or ice cream topped with a shot of hot espresso.

Examples

“I ordered an affogato for dessert after dinner.”

“The café serves a traditional affogato, using freshly brewed espresso and house-made vanilla bean gelato.”

“For a sophisticated twist on the classic affogato, the pastry chef added a splash of amaretto liqueur and a sprinkle of crushed amaretti biscuits.”

Examples

simple

“I ordered an affogato for dessert after dinner.”

contextual

“The café serves a traditional affogato, using freshly brewed espresso and house-made vanilla bean gelato.”

complex

“For a sophisticated twist on the classic affogato, the pastry chef added a splash of amaretto liqueur and a sprinkle of crushed amaretti biscuits.”

Usage

Often treated as countable when ordering ('two affogatos'), but can function uncountably when referring to the style of dessert.

Real-World Examples

“But nothing beats a properly made affogato, which is to say some supercold gelato with a shot or two of hot espresso.”
The New York Times · 12 Aug 2021
“Adjacent to the ice cream counter, a coffee bar serves up affogatos, while the ice cream selection boasts five classic flavors alongside five seasonal varieties, such as apricot-pistachio, all freshly prepared each day on-site.”
The New York Times · 16 Sept 2019

Etymology

From Italian affogato, literally "drowned," the past participle of affogare — to drown.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry

Level
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Updated

Scan code

englishreference.com/q/affogato

English Reference