[Ads-l] buckaroo

[Jonathan Lighter]

MW offers a mysterious date of "1827," which seems unlikely. Or maybe
it's merely surprising.

Anyway, the prime OED date doesn't quite cut the mustard:

"1852 These [rancheros] are surrounded by..peons and bakharas, or herdsmen."

There's no way that a word represented as "bakhara" (undoubtedly an
folk anglicization of "vaquero") could have been pronounced anything
like "buckaroo."

The next OED ex. is from 1889 - but that's "buckayro."

In fact,  "buckaroo" doesn't show up until 1907.  Very careless, chums.

The first "buckaroos" (essentially) may be these

1872 _Titusville_ [Pa.] Morning Herald_ (July 1) 1 [citing _Denver
News_ ] [Newspapers.com]: Colorado Herdsmen...[W]hile the buckaros
[sic] return to the herd.

1879 _Salt Lake Tribune_ (May 17) 4 [Newspapers.com]: Breaking wild
horses is a profession of mine, at one time I was considered the best
buckaro [sic]  in Los Angeles County, California.

1881 _State Rights Democrat_ (Albany, Ore.) (June 24) 3: Rumor has it
that a certain young "buckaroo" will stop "batching" and take unto him
a cook.

OED offers just one def: "a cowboy." But MW is closer to the mark by
adding a second: "broncobuster."

(And for what it's worth, "Buckaroo Mountain" in Australia is
mentioned as early as 1860.)

JL

-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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