It’s a matter of some debate amongst cookery historians about the origin of the word barbecue. Some etymologists (word historians) believe the word derives from the Caribbean. This belief is based on the fact the Taino people from this region have a word “barbacoa” - the literal translation of which is “sacred fire pit”. Over the years, it appears both the word and the method of cooking was adopted by the Spanish, the French, and then the English. Whilst it is also spelt as “barbeque” or shortened to “bbq” - especially in the United States - the first recorded use of the word barbecue in the English language was in 1697 (according to the Oxford English Dictionary).