Your ShelfYour Projects
Webster's Dictionary (1865)

2 entries under this word

Barbecue

Bär'be-cŭe, n.

noun

n. [Supposed by some to be corrupted from the Fr. barbe-à-queue, i. e., from snout to tail. Cf. CAP-A-PIE.]

  1. A hog, ox, or other large animal roasted whole.
  2. A large social entertainment, usually in the open air, at which animals are roasted whole, and other provisions of all kinds are consumed.

Bär'be-cūe, v. t.

verbtransitive

v. t. [imp. & p. p. BARBECUED; p. pr. & sb. n. BARBECUING.] To dress and roast whole, which is done by splitting the animal to the back-bone, and roasting it on a gridiron. “Lend me, gods, a whole hog barbecued.” Pope.