Here's the breakdown:
* "Barbacoa": This Taíno word referred to a specific type of framework used for cooking meat over a fire. It was a wooden structure built over a pit with a grate for holding the food.
* Spanish Colonization: The Spanish colonists in the Caribbean adopted the word "barbacoa" and brought it to the Americas.
* English Adoption: The English, in turn, adopted the word from the Spanish, eventually evolving it into "barbecue" by the 18th century.
So, while the word itself comes from the Taíno language, it was through a combination of cultural exchange and linguistic evolution that it became a part of English and the global culinary vocabulary.