How many different spellings are there for barbecue? Perhaps no other word in the English language has so many different but perfectly correct spellings as the word "barbecue". The various spellings are listed here, together with an actual citation for verification. Members are asked to email other spellings, together with a link to the place where the spelling occurs. Three basic spellings The BBQ FAQ, which was just added to the cbbqa website, includes several spellings of the word "barbecue". Since the BBQ FAQ is "the" authoritative source on things barbecue, these different ways to spell barbecue are accepted as accepted spellings. However, the BBQ FAQ raises three related matters, which must be considered. First, a different capitalization does not change a word's spelling. Thus, the words bar-b-que and Bar-B-Que are the same word with the same spelling albeit with a different capitalization. Although they are shown as different spellings in the BBQ FAQ, they are only different capitalizations of the same spellings. Second, this story concerns the spelling of the word which is pronounced "barbecue". The BBQ FAQ includes two words ("Q" and "Que"), which must not be considered same spellings. That is, these may be synonyms of barbecue, but they are different words, pronounced "que". This story concerns different spellings of the same word, which is pronounced barbecue. Thus, "q" and "que" are not different spellings of barbecue but are different words. Third, the BBQ FAQ includes "BBQ" as a different spelling. However, "BBQ" is not a different spelling of barbecue but is instead an abbreviation of the word. For this reason, "BBQ" will not be included as a different spelling. Therefore, we begin with the three spellings of the word, as cited by the authoritative BBQ FAQ. barbecue

barbeque

bar-b-que The Taino spelling The word barbecue, however spelled, traces its origin to pre-Columbian Native Americans who lived in the Caribbean. When Columbus arrived in 1492, the Taino used a cooking method of suspending wild game on a wooden structure over a pit of embers. The Taino word for the structure sounded to the Spaniards like "barbicoa" -- which is the word that they took back to Europe. Eventually, it entered the English language and returned back to America. A dictionary of the Taino tribe -- Native Americans who lived in the pre-Columbian Caribbean -- spells the original Taino word for the method of cooking meat over a fire pit and which hung on a wooden stand (a "barbacoa") as: barbicu' Notice the apostrophe, which appears in the original and may have indicated either that the vowel was emphasized or that it was lengthened, or both. George Washington's spelling Barbecue authors widely report that George Washington attended and wrote in his diary about a three-day event in Alexandria that he spelled as: barbicue Notice that this spelling is close to the Taino spelling. It is also reported that, about the same time, an English visitor described and spelled it as: barbacue Contemporary spelling If our search for different spellings requires that it be used by an authoritative source and in a verifiable place, we continue our search in the South Bay of Southern California. The City of Manhattan Beach uses a different yet interesting spelling. Its website usually uses "barbecue" and "bar-b-que", but it also uses: bar-be-que which is really a combination of barbeque and bar-b-que (with the hyphens). Citations:

For "barbicue", see, e.g., Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison, Smoke and Spice, page 2.

For "barbacue", see, e.g., Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison, Smoke and Spice, page 2.