burrito

/bəˈɹi.toʊ/

UK: /bʊˈriːtəʊ/

BƏɹI · toʊ (2 syllables)

English Noun Top 14,132

Definition

A Mexican dish consisting of a flour tortilla wrapped around a filling of meat and/or beans, cheese etc.

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish burrito, diminutive of burro (“donkey”), from burrico (“donkey”), from Latin burricus (“small horse”), from burrus (“red-brown”), from Ancient Greek πυρρός (purrhós, “flame-colored”), from πῦρ (pûr, “fire”). The food is so called because of its resemblance to a rolled up pack as typically carried by donkeys, making it an example of synecdoche.