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.