'barbecue' (variant spelling 'barbeque') originates from Spanish, specifically the word 'barbacoa', which in turn comes from Taíno (an Arawakan language) 'barabicu' meaning 'a framework of sticks (for sleeping or cooking)'.

'barabicu' (Taíno) was borrowed into Spanish as 'barbacoa', then entered English in the 17th century as 'barbecue' (also attested as 'barbeque' in later variant spellings).

Initially, it referred to a raised wooden frame or the method of slow-cooking meat on a frame; over time it broadened to mean the cooking apparatus, the act of cooking on a grill, and the social event centered on that cooking.