Barbecue
/ˈbɑːr.bɪ.kjuː/noun
A method of cooking food slowly over heat or smoke, or the food cooked that way.
Did you know?The word entered English through Caribbean and American colonial contact, and its earlier forms were used for a raised framework for roasting or drying meat, not the modern party feast.
Etymological Timeline
Taíno (pre-16th century)
Taíno
barbacoa
“A framework of sticks used for drying, smoking, or roasting food”
16th Century
Spanish
barbacoa
“A wooden framework or grill for cooking meat”
17th Century
French
barbecue
“A wooden framework for roasting meat”
17th–18th Century
English
barbecue
“A grill or spit for roasting meat; later, meat cooked slowly over heat or smoke”
Modern English
English
barbecue
“Cooking or food prepared by slow heat and smoke, especially outdoors”