means A coffee drink made with a shot or two of espresso and a large amount of steamed milk, topped with a thin layer of foam.

from Short for the Italian caffè latte, literally 'milk coffee' — latte simply meaning 'milk,' from Latin lac, lactis (the same root that gives us 'lactose' and 'galaxy,' the 'milky' way). A word of caution travelers learned the hard way: order just a 'latte' in Italy and you may be handed a plain glass of milk. The drink as the English-speaking world knows it was popularized in American coffee culture in the late 20th century.