The term "ep" is often a shortened form of "extended play," which refers to a musical recording that is too long to be considered a single but too short to be considered a full album. Typically, an EP contains three to five songs and serves as a way for artists to release new music without committing to a full album.
The abbreviation "EP" comes from the term "extended play," which originated in the early days of vinyl records. It was designed as a format that allowed artists to release more than one track without producing a full album's worth of material.