Etymologically
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taco

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 25 October 2026 at 23:21. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈtækəʊ/[1]
  • US: /ˈtɑkoʊ/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Spanish taco as used in Mexico,[2][3][4][5] recorded there from 1891 or earlier.[6] In Spanish taco meant a plug, wad or stopper, and also a bite or snack and a drink of wine.[7][3][2][5] The OED suggests that the Mexican sense developed from taco as a roll or a piece of cheese or ham eaten as a snack between meals, which dictionaries of Spanish record from 1853, beside the sense "plug, peg, wadding" from 1607.[6] The American Heritage Dictionary suggests instead that it began as tacos de minero (“miners' plugs”), fried tortillas wrapped round a filling and named for the charges of gunpowder in paper that Mexican silver miners plugged into the rock.[8] The origin of the Spanish word is uncertain:[6][7] Dictionary.com takes it as probably expressive,[9] while the American Heritage Dictionary relates it to Italian tacco (“chock, wedge”) and, perhaps through a Germanic source, to Old English staca (“stake”),[8] and Merriam-Webster to English tack.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A folded tortilla with a filling: 1895, in Woman's Work for Woman.[6] Popik and Etymonline cite a book about Mexico City from 1901,[10][11] and Merriam-Webster dates it to 1914.[3]

Semantic evolution

The word stayed tied to the Mexican dish, a staple of Tex-Mex cooking.[10] Dictionaries of the 20th century record it late: Barnhart dates it to before 1940, Dictionary.com to 1930–35, and the Shorter Oxford to the mid-20th century.[7][9][4] In American slang from 1969 taco has also been a derogatory word for a Mexican or Latin American person.[12]

Timeline

  • 1891 – the Spanish word recorded in Mexico.[6]
  • 1895 – first English record.[6]
  • 1901 – in a book about Mexico City.[10][11]
  • 1914 – Merriam-Webster's first known use.[3]
  • 1969 – US slang, a derogatory word for a Mexican.[12]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A Mexican dish of a tortilla folded or rolled round a filling of meat, beans, cheese or the like, often fried crisp: We had fish tacos at the beach stand.[2][3][6][4]
  2. (US slang, derogatory) A Mexican or Latin American person.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  3. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  8. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  9. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  10. ^ a b c Popik, Barry, The Big Apple, barrypopik.com, p. "Taco", 26 November 2006
  11. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  12. ^ a b c Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com