Barista

Pronunciation

• Italianate enPR: (approximately): bărisʹtă, IPA: /baˈrista/
• RP enPR: bărÄ­sʹtÉ™, IPA: /baˈɹɪstÉ™/

Origin

Loanword from Italian barista ("bartender"), cognate to bar + -ist ("person"), literally “bar person”; compare barman.

Full definition of barista

Noun

1. A person who serves behind the counter in a coffee shop.

Usage notes

Barista, in Italian, is of common gender. For English speakers cursorily familiar with Italian grammar, it may appear feminine on first encounter, as evidenced by the existence of the hypercorrect derivation baristo, intended as its masculine counterpart.

Derived terms

• baristo hypercorrect masculine form

Anagrams

• Arabist