barbacoa

B3A1R1B3A1C3O1A1
/ˌbɑː(ɹ)bəˈkoʊ.ə/

noun

Meat slow-cooked over an open fire, characteristic of Latin American cuisine.

OriginSpanish barbacoa ← Taíno barbakoa →
RareScrabble 14
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounbarbacoa (uncountable)
  1. uncountableMeat slow-cooked over an open fire, characteristic of Latin American cuisine.

    At first Andablo tried to make barbacoa with cow heads, but something about American beef didn't taste right. "

    2004 January 16, Mike Sula, “The Cooking Life”, in Chicago Reader

Origin

  1. Taínobarbakoa“framework of sticks”
  2. Spanishbarbacoa
  3. Englishbarbacoa

Borrowed from Spanish barbacoa (whence also barbecue), from Taíno barbakoa (“framework of sticks”), the raised wooden structure the natives used to either sleep on or cure meat. Originally “meal of roasted meat or fish”. Doublet of barbecue and balbacua.

More words from Spanish, Taíno

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

barbacoa. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/barbacoa

MLA

“barbacoa.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/barbacoa. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “barbacoa,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/barbacoa.

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