Where does “bully beef” come from?
bully beef (English) comes from French bouilli, from French bouillir, from Middle French bouillir, from Old French boillir, from Old French bolir, from Latin bulliō, from Latin -iō, from Proto-West Germanic -jō — he, she.
bully beef (English): Pickled or canned beef
Ancestry of “bully beef”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | bouilli | past participle of bouillir; boiled |
| 2 | French | bouillir | to boil; to seethe |
| 3 | Middle French | bouillir | to boil |
| 4 | Old French | boillir | alternative infinitive of bolir; to boil, burst |
| 5 | Old French | bolir | to boil |
| 6 | Latin | bulliō | — |
| 7 | Latin | -iō | — |
| 8 | Proto-West Germanic | -jō | Forms agent nouns from verbs |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 11 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |