Where does “chef” come from?
Chef comes from French chef, derived from Latin caput meaning "head," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European kapōlo.
chef (English): The presiding cook in the kitchen of a large...
Definitions
- The presiding cook in the kitchen of a large...
Ancestry of “chef”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | chef | head; article, principal point; principal motive,... |
| 2 | Middle French | chief | head |
| 3 | Old French | chief | head; leader, chief; front |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | capum | head, chief; head |
| 5 | Latin | caput | head; headlike protuberance on an organ or body... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | kaput | head |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | káput | head |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | kap- | to seize, hold |
Words derived from “chef”