Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “roast beef” come from?

roast beef (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.

roast beef (English): Beef cooked by roasting; A cut of beef that has...

Definitions

  1. Beef cooked by roasting; A cut of beef that has...

Ancestry of “roast beef”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbeefThe meat from a cow, bull, or other bovine; A...
2Middle Englishbefbeef; cow flesh or meat; A bovine or its carcass
3Old Frenchbuefcow
4Latinbōs—
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

Words derived from “roast beef”

  • rosbif
  • rosbif
  • rosbif
  • rosbif
  • rosbief
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ker- →