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barbecue (n.)

1690s, "framework for grilling meat, fish, etc.," from American Spanish barbacoa, from Arawakan (Haiti) barbakoa "framework of sticks set upon posts," the raised wooden structure the West Indians used to either sleep on or cure meat. Sense of "outdoor feast of roasted meat or fish as a social entertainment" is from 1733; modern popular noun sense of "grill for cooking over an open fire" is from 1931.

barbecue (v.)

"to dry or roast on a gridiron," 1660s, from the source of barbecue (n.). Related: Barbecued; barbecuing.

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Definitions of barbecue from WordNet
1
barbecue (n.)
meat that has been barbecued or grilled in a highly seasoned sauce;
Synonyms: barbeque
barbecue (n.)
a cookout in which food is cooked over an open fire; especially a whole animal carcass roasted on a spit;
Synonyms: barbeque
barbecue (n.)
a rack to hold meat for cooking over hot charcoal usually out of doors;
Synonyms: barbeque
2
barbecue (v.)
cook outdoors on a barbecue grill;
let's barbecue that meat
Synonyms: barbeque / cook out
From wordnet.princeton.edu