When you have sauce all over your fingers and a belly full of ribs, the last thing on your mind is probably the minutiae of the English language. But once you’ve had ample time to digest the food, you might find yourself wondering whether it’s spelled “barbecue” or “barbeque.” In some cases, a single letter can make a huge difference — take “champ” vs. “chump,” for instance. But when it comes to good old-fashioned BBQ, many people use the spellings interchangeably, though most dictionaries and style guides argue one is technically more correct. (The AP style guide specifically says not to use “BBQ” or “barbeque,” and Merriam-Webster lists “barbeque” as an alternative spelling for the noun, but it provides a “less common” label.)
However you spell it, the word is derived from American Spanish — specifically the term barbacoa, which is “the wood framework for supporting cooked or dried meat.” English speakers began using the word as a verb around 1689, referring to the process of cooking meat. By the 1730s, it was more commonly used as a noun for the food being cooked or the event itself.
As for the spelling, “barbecue” appeared first, as it was derived from the similar Spanish word that contains the letter “C.” But according to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word was shortened to “BBQ” by many restaurants and advertisers around the 1950s 1956, based on the term’s phonetics. At some point along the way, the spelling “barbeque” emerged.
While we know the spelling of “barbecue” came first, “barbeque” is acceptable (but less common), according to Merriam-Webster. However, you won’t see both spellings everywhere — sociologist John Shelton Reed says the spelling “barbeque” is particularly popular in the Southern U.S. compared to elsewhere. In that region you’re likely to find many opinions on what exactly counts as barbecue — such as if it’s a food or an activity — but we’re not touching the debate on what kind of sauce to use on your barbecue/barbeque.
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