Where does the word barbecue come from?

It comes from the Spanish word barbacoa, which originally described a late-17th-century framework of sticks set on posts. This framework was used in the Caribbean to hang meat to be smoked or dried over a fire. Later the word was used to describe any kind of feast where animals were roasted and lots of food was served. The use of the word to describe a grill or griddle began in about the 1930s.