churrasco (chuh-RAS-koh, Sp. choor-RAHS-kaw) - n., meat broiled on a spit over an open fire or grilled under or under open flame or an oven.
A rather broad definition because it means slightly different things in different Latin American countries (and for that matter in different regions of Iberia), but often taken to mean specifically grilled beef steak. English got the word from Brazilian Portuguese, which got it from Argentinean/Uruguayan Spanish, where the etymology is muddled but seems to be related to chamuscar, to scorch/singe, churruscar, to begin to burn, and/or socarrar, to scorch/singe. Regardless, tasty.
---L.
A rather broad definition because it means slightly different things in different Latin American countries (and for that matter in different regions of Iberia), but often taken to mean specifically grilled beef steak. English got the word from Brazilian Portuguese, which got it from Argentinean/Uruguayan Spanish, where the etymology is muddled but seems to be related to chamuscar, to scorch/singe, churruscar, to begin to burn, and/or socarrar, to scorch/singe. Regardless, tasty.
---L.