Where does “neckbeef” come from?

neckbeef (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.

neckbeef (English): Meat from the neck of cattle

Definitions

  1. Meat from the neck of cattle

Ancestry of “neckbeef”, step by step

neckbeef traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English beef

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbeefThe meat from a cow, bull, or other bovine; A...
2Middle Englishbefbeef; cow flesh or meat; A bovine or its carcass
3Old Frenchbuefcow
4Latinbōshead of cattle (cow, bull, steer, or ox)
5Ancient Greekβοῦςcow, ox, cattle; shield: ὃτι ἐκ βοείων ἐστι...
6LatincorvusA raven; a bird associated with prophecy and...
7Proto-Italickorwos
8Proto-Indo-Europeanḱorh₂wós
9Proto-Indo-Europeanḱer-to grow, to make grow, to nourish; to plait,...
10Proto-Indo-Europeankr̥-to turn, to bend
11Proto-Indo-Europeanker-army

via English neck

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishneckThe part of the body connecting the head and the...
2Middle Englishnekkeneck
3Old Englishhneccaback of the neck; back of the head; neck
4Proto-West Germanic*hnakkōnape
5Proto-Germanichnakkôthe back of the neck; nape
6Proto-Indo-Europeanknog-back of the head, nape, neck
7Proto-Indo-Europeanken-to arise, begin
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ker-