Buckaroo
Encyclopedia
A Buckaroo is a cowboy of the vaquero
tradition of the Great Basin
and California
regions of the United States, particularly one skilled in the handling of horses. The origin of the English term is usually explained as a corruption of the Spanish vaquero.
, buckaroo is a corruption of the Spanish
word vaquero, which means "herder of cattle" and derives from vaca, "cow," which in turn comes from . The phonological characteristics of buckaroo are compatible with oral transmission from Spanish. Some authors have challenged this derivation and suggested variously that buckaroo comes from , "white man, master, boss", or from baqar, meaning "cattle". The Arabic word baqqār means "cowherd".
Vaquero
The vaquero is a horse-mounted livestock herder of a tradition that originated on the Iberian peninsula. Today the vaquero is still a part of the doma vaquera, the Spanish tradition of working riding...
tradition of the Great Basin
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...
and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
regions of the United States, particularly one skilled in the handling of horses. The origin of the English term is usually explained as a corruption of the Spanish vaquero.
Etymology
According to the Oxford English DictionaryOxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
, buckaroo is a corruption of the Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
word vaquero, which means "herder of cattle" and derives from vaca, "cow," which in turn comes from . The phonological characteristics of buckaroo are compatible with oral transmission from Spanish. Some authors have challenged this derivation and suggested variously that buckaroo comes from , "white man, master, boss", or from baqar, meaning "cattle". The Arabic word baqqār means "cowherd".