Curio
Today

rodeo

ROH-dee-oh · noun

SpanishEnglish

Origin

The word comes from Spanish rodeo, itself from the verb rodear, meaning "to surround." It originally described the act of encircling cattle to round them up.

Journey

The core idea — surrounding and gathering animals — stayed intact as the word moved from describing the practical task of a roundup to naming the public event built around those skills.

Related words

It shares its root with Spanish rodear ("to surround"), the very act the word was born to describe.

More words

From Spanish

Nearby, A–Z

All words A–Z →