PESTO
What does "PESTO" mean?
An uncooked Italian sauce of crushed basil, garlic, pine nuts, cheese, and olive oil.
Meanings
- A green sauce made by pounding basil, garlic, pine nuts, hard cheese, and olive oil together, classically served with pasta. She tossed the hot trofie with fresh pesto and a little of the cooking water.
- Any similar pounded sauce of herbs or greens with oil and cheese, such as parsley or arugula pesto. When basil was out of season he made a kale pesto instead.
Did you know?
- Pesto and pestle share a root: both come from Latin 'pinsere', to pound - the sauce is literally named for the crushing, so the original 'recipe' is a verb.
Word origin
From Italian 'pesto', past participle of 'pestare' (to pound or crush), from Latin 'pinsere'; the name records the mortar-and-pestle method, not an ingredient.
Remember it
PESTO comes from the PESTle that crushes it - same Latin root, same five-letter rhythm.
A little poem
Basil bruised to green,
garlic and stone arguing-
summer in a jar.
haiku
Wordplay
- I tried to make a sauce that looked tough, but I couldn't bring myself to do it - I went to pesto instead.
What it teaches
The best things are made by what you crush, not what you keep whole.
Quick facts
What does PESTO mean?
An uncooked Italian sauce of crushed basil, garlic, pine nuts, cheese, and olive oil.
Is PESTO a valid word?
Yes — PESTO is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is PESTO?
PESTO has 5 letters and 2 syllables.
Where does PESTO come from?
From Italian 'pesto', past participle of 'pestare' (to pound or crush), from Latin 'pinsere'; the name records the mortar-and-pestle method, not an ingredient.
What can PESTO teach us?
The best things are made by what you crush, not what you keep whole.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.