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
- Beef cooked by roasting; A cut of beef that has...
Ancestry of “roast beef”, step by step
roast beef 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 roast
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | roast | To cook food by heating in an oven or over a fire... |
| 2 | Middle English | rosten | To roast or grill; to cook over a griddle; To... |
| 3 | Old French | rostir | to roast; to torture by subjecting to fire |
| 4 | Frankish | rōstjan | to roast |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | raustijaną | to roast |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | *Hrews- | — |