Where does “rosbif” come from?
rosbif (Italian) comes from English roast beef, 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 — army.
rosbif (Italian): roast beef
Ancestry of “rosbif”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | roast beef | Beef cooked by roasting; A cut of beef that has... |
| 2 | English | beef | The meat from a cow, bull, or other bovine; A... |
| 3 | Middle English | bef | beef; cow flesh or meat; A bovine or its carcass |
| 4 | Old French | buef | cow |
| 5 | Latin | bōs | — |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | βοῦς | cow, ox, cattle; shield: ὃτι ἐκ βοείων ἐστι... |
| 7 | Latin | corvus | A raven; a bird associated with prophecy and... |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | korwos | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱorh₂wós | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱer- | to grow, to make grow, to nourish; to plait,... |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | kr̥- | to turn, to bend |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | ker- | army |