The taco may be named after a mining explosive — in 18th-century Mexican silver mines, a "taco" was gunpowder wrapped in paper and stuffed into rock.
A Mexican dish consisting of a folded or rolled tortilla filled with various mixtures, such as seasoned meat, beans, lettuce, and tomatoes.
From Mexican Spanish taco, of uncertain ultimate origin. In Mexican Spanish, taco means 'plug, wad, stopper' and also 'a light meal or snack.' Possibly from a Nahuatl source, or from the Spanish sense of 'plug' (something stuffed in). Key roots: taco (Spanish: "plug, wad, stopper (ultimate origin uncertain)").
In Mexican silver mines of the 18th century, a taco was a piece of paper wrapped around gunpowder and inserted into a hole drilled in rock — a primitive blasting charge. The name likely transferred to the food because of the visual similarity: something wrapped around a filling. This mining origin, documented by food historian Jeffrey Pilcher, suggests that the taco may be named after a stick of dynamite