beef

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English

Etymology

From Middle English beef, bef, beof, borrowed from Anglo-Norman beof, Old French buef, boef (“ox”) (modern French bœuf); from Latin bōs (“ox”), from Proto-Italic *gʷōs, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws. Doublet of cow.

Beef in the sense of “a grudge, argument” was originally an American slang expression:[1]

  • attested as a verb “to complain” in 1888: “He'll beef an' kick like a steer an' let on he won't never wear 'em.”— New York World, 13 May;
  • attested as a noun “complaint, protest, grievance, sim.” in 1899: “He made a Horrible Beef because he couldn't get Loaf Sugar for his Coffee.”—Fables in Slang (1900) by George Ade, page 80.

As to the possible origin of this American usage, it has been suggested that it can be traced back to a British expression for “alarm”, first recorded in 1725:[2] "BEEF 'to alarm, as To cry beef upon us; they have discover'd us, and are in Pursuit of us". The term "beef" in this context would be a Cockney rhyming slang of thief. The continuous use of a similar expression, including its assumed semantic shift to 'complaint' in the United States from the 1880s onwards, needs further clarification though.[3]

Pronunciation

  • Lua error in Module:parameters at line 360: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "GA" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /bif/
  • Lua error in Module:parameters at line 360: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "UK" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /biːf/
  • Audio (UK):(file)
  • Rhymes: -iːf

Noun

beef (countable and uncountable, plural beef or beefs or beeves)

A chunk of beef (sense 1)
  2. (uncountable) The meat from a cow, bull, or other bovine.
    Synonyms: cowflesh, oxflesh
    Hyponym: veal
    I love eating beef.
    1. (in the meat industry, on product packaging) The edible portions of a cow (including those which are not meat).
      lean finely textured beef
      boneless lean beef trimmings
    2. (by extension, slang, uncountable) Muscle or musculature; size, strength or potency.
      Put some beef into it! We've got to get the car over the bump.
      We've got to get some beef into the enforcement provisions of that law.
    3. (figurative, slang, uncountable) Essence, content; the important part of a document or project.
      Synonym: meat
      The beef of his paper was a long rant about government.
  3. (uncountable) Bovine animals.
    • 2010 October 21, “Who's the real McCoy? Abilene's Joseph in 8 Wonders contest”, in Abilene Recorder Chronicle:
      However, there were millions of head of beef roaming the plains of Texas.
  4. (now chiefly Canada, US, countable, now uncommon, plural beeves) A bovine (cow or bull) being raised for its meat.
    Do you want to raise beeves?
    • 1791, Homer, “[The Iliad.] Book XV.”, in W[illiam] Cowper, transl., The Iliad and Odyssey of Homer, Translated into Blank Verse, […], volume I, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], →OCLC, page 394, lines 398–401:
      As when two lions in the ſtill dark night / An herd of beeves ſcatter or num'rous flock / Suddenly, in the abſence of the guard, / So fled the heartleſs Greeks, […]
    • 1903 March, Henry Mason Baum, Frederick Bennett Wright, George Frederick Wright, Records of the Past, volume II, part III, page 87, translating the laws of Hammurabi:
      263. If he [one to whom a beef or sheep is loaned] ruins the beef or sheep that was loaned him, he is to return to the owner a beef for a beef and a sheep for a sheep.
    • 1920–1930, Photo in the North Dakota State Museum:
      Cutting out a Beef for branding
    • 2012, Bart Reilly, quotee, “Beef”, in Ontario Dialects Project‎[2], Toronto: University of Toronto, retrieved July 5, 2022:
      I remember I killed a beef one time by myself.
  5. (slang, uncountable or countable, plural beefs) A grudge; dislike (of something or someone); lack of faith or trust (in something or someone); a reason for a dislike or grudge. (often + with)
    He's got beef over what you said.
    He's got a beef with everyone in the room.
    Remember what happened last fall? That's his beef with me.
  6. (Dorset) Fibrous calcite or limestone, especially when occurring in a jagged layer between shales in Dorset.
    • 1895, Geological Survey of Great Britain, The Jurassic Rocks of Britain: Pub. by Order of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, page 243:
      Clays, shales, sands, red and green marls, and alum shale, with occasional layers of "beef" (fibrous carbonate of lime) […] Chief "Beef" Beds, Dark (alum) shales with "beef" and selenite, beds of limestone, and layers of perished shells. Cyrena and Cyrides.
      Corbula Beds. Layers of shelly limestone, shale, alum shale, and marl, with "beef" and selenite.
    • 1993, Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, Proceedings - Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, volumes 114-115, page 190:
      Medium-grey paper shales with beef.
    • 2007 May 10, Robin McInnes, Jenny Jakeways, Helen Fairbank, Emma Mathie, Landslides and Climate Change: Challenges and Solutions: Proceedings of the International Conference on Landslides and Climate Change, Ventnor, Isle of Wight, UK, 21-24 May 2007, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 421:
      […] beds of limestone and thin layers of 'beef' (fibrous calcite) […]

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Verb

beef (third-person singular simple present beefs, present participle beefing, simple past and past participle beefed)

  1. (intransitive) To complain.
  2. (transitive) To add weight or strength to.
    Synonym: beef up
    • 1969, Hot Rod (volume 22, page 59)
      First off, the axle housing was beefed by welding areas where extreme loading is evident (black marked areas).
  3. (intransitive, slang) To fart; break wind.
    Ugh, who just beefed in here?
  4. (African-American Vernacular, MLE, MTE, intransitive, slang) To feud or hold a grudge against.
    Those two are beefing right now – best you stay out of it for now.
  5. (intransitive, chiefly Yorkshire) To cry.
    David was beefing last night after Ruth told him off.
  6. (transitive, slang) To fail or mess up.
    I beefed my presentation hard yesterday.

Derived terms

Adjective

beef (not comparable)

  1. Being a bovine animal that is being raised for its meat.
    We bought three beef calves this morning.
  2. Producing or known for raising lots of beef.
    beef farms
    beef country
  3. Consisting of or containing beef as an ingredient.
    beef stew
  4. (slang) Beefy; powerful; robust.
    Wow, your audio setup is beef!

Translations

References

  1. ^ “Origin of the Slang AmE and BrE Usage of “Beef””, in StackExchange‎[1], 2016–2019.
  2. ^ The New Canting Dictionary: Comprehending All the Terms, Ancient and Modern, Used in the Several Tribes of Gypsies, Beggars, Shoplifters, Highwaymen, Foot-pads etc. London.
  3. ^ Michael Quinion (1996–2024) “Beefing”, in World Wide Words.

Anagrams

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

Verb

beef (present beef, present participle bewende, past participle gebeef)

  1. Alternative form of bewe

Dutch

Pronunciation

Verb

beef

  1. (deprecated template usage) first-person singular present indicative of beven
  2. (deprecated template usage) imperative of beven
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