It came into English from the American Spanish word barbacoa, ultimately from Taino, an American Indian language spoken in the Caribbean.
Merriam-Webster (whose online dictionary gives reliable information on many etymology questions like this one, and which is linked conveniently at the top of the News&Reference page and elsewhere on this site) traces its existence in English to as early as 1690. It probably came into Spanish much earlier than that, since the Taino culture was one of the very first Indian cultures encountered in America by the Spaniards.
Posts: 2612 | Location: Upper U.S. | Registered: 06-11-02
Maiku ,according to this site you were right, and I apologize, too bad my teacher must have passed away now(it was 1972) and I won't be to be able to give him 'hell',(who can you trust)?Next time I'll make sure the old guy, wasn't a hippie on something!
