Where does “beefer” come from?
beefer (English) comes from English beef, from Middle English bef, from Old French buef, from Latin bōs, from Ancient Greek βοῦς, from Latin corvus, from Proto-Italic korwos, from Proto-Indo-European ḱorh₂wós — army.
beefer (English): A police informer; A cow used for beef and not...
Definitions
- A police informer; A cow used for beef and not...
Ancestry of “beefer”, step by step
beefer traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English beef
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | beef | The meat from a cow, bull, or other bovine; A... |
| 2 | Middle English | bef | beef; cow flesh or meat; A bovine or its carcass |
| 3 | Old French | buef | cow |
| 4 | Latin | bōs | head of cattle (cow, bull, steer, or ox) |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | βοῦς | cow, ox, cattle; shield: ὃτι ἐκ βοείων ἐστι... |
| 6 | Latin | corvus | A raven; a bird associated with prophecy and... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | korwos | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱorh₂wós | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱer- | to grow, to make grow, to nourish; to plait,... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | kr̥- | to turn, to bend |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | ker- | army |
via English ER
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ER | The statistic "Earned Run"; Initialism of... |
| 2 | Turkish | er | early; brave; man, male |
| 3 | Ottoman Turkish | ایر | saddle, a seat for a rider placed on the back of a horse or other animal |
| 4 | Old Anatolian Turkish | ایر | early, at a time in advance of the usual or expected event |
| 5 | Proto-Turkic | ēder | saddle |