barbecue

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈbɑːbɪˌkjuː/ (UK); /ˈbɑɹbɪˌkju/, /ˈbɑɹbə-/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Spanish barbacoa (“framework for roasting meat”),^[2][3][4][5] from an Arawakan language of the West Indies,^[6][4][5] perhaps Taino.^[2][3][5] Barnhart and Etymonline cite a Haitian word barbakoa for a framework of sticks set on posts.^[6][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A raised framework of sticks, used for sleeping on or for holding meat over a fire to dry or smoke it.^[6][7]

Semantic evolution

The name of the frame passed to the cooking: the verb first meant to dry or cure meat on such a frame, then to roast an animal whole over a fire.^[7][4] From whole-animal roasts came the sense of a large outdoor social feast, recorded from 1733,^[6][7][4] and later the meat cooked at such events.^[6] The sense of an outdoor grill dates from 1931.^[6][7]

Timeline

• 1657 – Barnhart's first date, spelled barbycu;^[4] RHWU dates the word 1655–65, while Etymonline dates the noun to the 1690s.^[5][6]
• 1661 – verb, to dry or cure on a barbecue.^[7][4]
• 1690 – verb, to roast or broil whole.^[7][3][4]
• 1697 – the OED's first quotation for the wooden frame.^[7]
• 1733 – an outdoor feast of roasted meat.^[6][7][4]
• 1894 – the style of meat served at such events.^[6]
• 1900 – barbecue sauce.^[6]
• 1931 – a grill for cooking over an open fire.^[6][7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A grill, pit or fireplace for cooking food over an open fire, usually outdoors.
2. A social gathering, usually outdoors, at which food is cooked this way.
3. Meat cooked over an open fire, often basted with a seasoned sauce.
4. A whole animal roasted over an open fire.
5. A floor on which coffee beans are spread to dry.

Verb

1. To roast or grill (meat or fish) over an open fire or hot coals, often with a seasoned sauce.

Word family

• barbecuer
• barbie
• BBQ
• barbecue sauce

References

1. [1] Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. [1] [2] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. [1] [2] [3] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
5. [1] [2] [3] [4] Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
6. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press