pico de gallo

noun

pi·​co de gal·​lo ˈpē-kō-də-ˈgä-(ˌ)yō 

-ˈgī-(ˌ)ō

variants or less commonly pico

ˈpē-kō 

plural pico de gallos also picos

: a sauce made of diced tomato, onion, and chili peppers with lime juice, cilantro, and salt

The flautas, … filled with thick threads of shredded chicken, held up well under lettuce, pico de gallo, and sour cream.

—José R. Ralat

The burger, which features house-made pico de gallo, pepper jack cheese and a zesty cilantro-lime sauce … gained its very own fan club …

—Polly Anna Rocha

Pico tastes even better after an hour or two in the fridge, so make it ahead and let it sit.

—Angel Albring

also : a similar sauce made with a main ingredient other than tomatoes (such as mangos or tomatillos)

… grilled fillets of buttery white-fleshed fish … served with pineapple pico de gallo and plenty of warm corn tortillas.

—Sam Sifton

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Mexican Spanish, literally, "rooster's beak"; Spanish pico "beak," probably going back to Latin *beccus "beak," reshaped after Vulgar Latin *piccāre "to prick"; de, preposition marking possession, going back to Latin dē "from"; gallo "rooster," going back to Latin gallus — more at beak, pike entry 4, de-, gallinaceous

Note: The Mexican scholar of popular speech Darío Rubio (1878-1952) described pico de gallo as "una salsa que se hace de joconstle o soconoscle (tuna agria), cebolla y chile" — "a salsa made from joconstle or soconoscle (sour prickly pear fruit), onion and chili," which was administered as a cure for a hangover (La anarquía del lenguaje en la América Española, tomo segundo [Mexico City, 1925], p. 121). In the U.S. Department of Agriculture's bulletin Seeds and Plants Imported during the Period from April 1 to June 30, 1908 (Washington, 1909), Frederick Chisolm, a contributor from Mexico, writes in a description of the jicama: "For the table I have seen them [jicamas] peeled, thinly sliced, and served with sliced oranges, forming the dessert dish called 'pico de gallo'—cock's bill" (p. 50). A still earlier occurrence is in the article "Der Pulke oder Agavewein: Kulturstudie" by Emil Riedel (Westermanns illustrierte deutsche Monats-Hefte, 73. Jahrgang, 74. Band [April bis September 1893]), p. 323: "Mit Beißpfeffer (Chile) und Zwiebeln wird eine herbe Mischung bereitet, die als Hühnerschnabel (pico de gallo) bekannt ist." — "A tart mixture of hot peppers (chile) and onions is prepared, which is known as rooster's beak (pico de gallo)." Numerous explanations have been offered for the name pico de gallo, though given its application to a range of dishes, one can hardly be preferred to another.

First Known Use

1958, in the meaning defined above