balbacua

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noun

A Filipino stew of beef slow-cooked until tender, especially in the cuisine of Visayas and Mindanao.

OriginCebuano balbakuwa ← Spanish barbacoa ← Taíno barbakoa →
Scrabble 14
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Meanings

nounbalbacua (uncountable)

alternative balbacoa · alternative balbakoa · alternative balbakua · alternative balbakwa

  1. PhilippinesuncountableA Filipino stew of beef slow-cooked until tender, especially in the cuisine of Visayas and Mindanao.

Origin

  1. Taínobarbakoa“framework of sticks”
  2. Spanishbarbacoa“slow-cooked meat on an open fire”
  3. Cebuanobalbakuwa
  4. Englishbalbacua

Borrowed from Cebuano balbakuwa, from Spanish barbacoa (“slow-cooked meat on an open fire”) (whence also the English doublet barbecue), from Taíno barbakoa (“framework of sticks”), the raised wooden structure the natives used to either sleep on or cure meat. The dish was likely named due to the similarity in the length of time in cooking and the tenderness of the meat. Compare Tagalog balbakwa, English barbacoa.

More words from Cebuano, Spanish, Taíno

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

balbacua. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/balbacua

MLA

“balbacua.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/balbacua. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “balbacua,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/balbacua.

Source: balbacua on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.