chef

See also: Chef, chèf, and chef-

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French chef (from the positions of chef d'office and chef de cuisine), from Old French chief (“head, leader”) (English chief), from Vulgar Latin capus (“head”) (from which also captain, chieftain), from Latin caput (“head”) (English cap (“head covering”)), from Proto-Indo-European *kauput- (English head). Doublet of chief.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃɛf/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛf

Noun

chef (plural chefs)

1. The presiding cook in the kitchen of a large household.
   • <1845, R. H. Barham, Blasphemer's Warning in Ingoldsby Legends (1847), 3rd Ser., 245

     The Chef's peace of mind was restor'd, And in due time a banquet was placed on the board.

2. The head cook of a restaurant or other establishment.
   • 1849, Thackeray, Pendennis (1850), I. xxviii. 266

     The angry little chef of Sir Francis Clavering's culinary establishment.

3. Any cook.
   • Kiss the chef. (slogan on aprons used by home barbecue enthusiasts)
4. (slang) One who manufactures illegal drugs; a cook.
   • 1998, SPIN (volume 14, number 3, page 100)

     But trying to stop all the nation's meth chefs makes as much sense as building a wall along the Mexican border.

   • 2013, Mike Power, Drugs 2.0

     Owsley Stanley, the world's most exacting and prolific LSD chef who supplied the majority of America's West Coast with LSD in the 1960s, claimed he made so much acid not because he wanted to change the world, but rather because it was almost impossible not to make vast quantities of the drug once the synthesis had been embarked upon.

5. (historical) A reliquary in the shape of a head.

Usage notes

When used in reference to a cook with no sous-chefs or other workers beneath him, the term connotes a certain degree of prestige—whether culinary education or ability—distinguishing the chef from a “cook”. As a borrowing, chef was originally italicized, but such treatment is now obsolete. Within a catering establishment, the head cook (and no-one else) will normally be addressed simply as "chef" as a term of respect.

Derived terms

• chefly

Hypernyms

• (cook): cook

Synonyms

• (cook, particularly a learned or skilful one): magirist, magirologist (obs.)

Translations

head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant

• Afrikaans: sjef
• Albanian: gjellëtar (sq) m
• Arabic: طَاهٍ‎ m (ṭāhin) (indefinite), طَاهِي‎ m (ṭāhī) (construct), شِيف‎ m (šīf), طَاهِيَة‎ f (ṭāhiya)

  Hijazi Arabic: شيف‎ m (šēf), طَبَّاخ‎ m (ṭabbāḵ)

• Armenian: շեֆ-խոհարար (šef-xoharar)
• Azerbaijani: baş aşpaz
• Belarusian: шэф-куха́р m (šef-kuxár)
• Bengali: বাবুর্চি (bn) (baburci)
• Bulgarian: гла́вен готва́ч m (gláven gotváč)
• Catalan: xef m
• Chechen: юургйийриг (juurgjīrig)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 廚師, 厨师 (cyu⁴ si¹, ceoi⁴ si¹), 大廚, 大厨 (daai⁶ cyu^4-2, daai⁶ ceoi^4-2)

  Mandarin: 廚師 (zh), 厨师 (zh) (chúshī)

  Min Nan: 廚師, 厨师 (tû-su), 廚子師, 厨子师 (tô͘-chí-sai), 廚子 (zh-min-nan) (tô͘-chí), 刀子 (to-chí), 總舖師 (zh-min-nan), 总铺师 (zh-min-nan) (chóng-phò͘-sai), 總舖, 总铺 (chóng-phò͘)

• Czech: šéfkuchař m
• Dutch: chef-kok (nl) m
• Esperanto: ĉefkuiristo
• Estonian: peakokk
• Finnish: keittiömestari (fi), kokki (fi)
• French: chef cuisinier (fr) m, chef (fr) m
• Galician: xefe de cociña m
• Georgian: მზარეული (mzareuli), შეფ-მზარეული (šep-mzareuli), შეფი (ka) (šepi)
• German: Chefkoch (de) m, Chefköchin f, Küchenchef (de) m, Küchenchefin (de) f
• Greek: αρχιμάγειρος (el) m (archimágeiros)
• Hebrew: שֶׁף‎ (he) m (shef)
• Hindi: बावरची (hi) m (bāvarcī)
• Hungarian: séf (hu)
• Icelandic: kokkur (is) m, yfirmatsveinn m, matreiðslumaður m, matsveinn m
• Ido: koqueyestro (io)
• Italian: capocuoco (it) m

• Japanese: 料理人 (ja) (りょうりにん, ryōrinin), 調理師 (ja) (ちょうりし, chōrishi), シェフ (shefu), コック (ja) (kokku)
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: 요리사(料理師) (ko) (yorisa), 료리사(料理師) (ryorisa) (North Korea), 주방장(廚房長) (jubangjang), 셰프 (syepeu)
• Latvian: šefpavārs m
• Lithuanian: vyriausias virėjas m
• Macedonian: шеф на кујна m (šef na kujna)
• Maltese: xeff m
• Manx: ard-choagyrey m
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: please add this translation if you can

• Navajo: chʼiyáán ííłʼíní
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: kjøkkensjef m

  Nynorsk: kjøkensjef m, kjøkkensjef m

• Persian: سرآشپز‎ (fa) (sar-âšpaz)
• Polish: szef kuchni m, kucharz (pl) m
• Portuguese: chef (pt) m or f
• Romanian: bucătar-șef m
• Russian: шеф-по́вар (ru) m (šef-póvar), по́вар (ru) m (póvar)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: главни кувар m

  Roman: glavni kuhar m

• Slovak: šéfkuchár m
• Slovene: glavni kuhar m, glavna kuharica f
• Spanish: chef (es) m
• Swedish: köksmästare (sv) c, kock (sv) c
• Thai: หัวหน้าพ่อครัว (hǔua-nâa-pɔ̂ɔ-kruua), เชฟ (chéep)
• Turkish: şef (tr)
• Ukrainian: шеф-куха́р m (šef-kuxár)
• Urdu: باورچی‎ m (bāvarcī)
• Uyghur: ئاشپەز‎ (ug) (ashpez)
• Vietnamese: bếp trưởng
• Volapük: (♂♀) kvisinal, (♂) hikvisinal, (♀) jikvisinal
• Welsh: cogydd (cy) m or f, pen-cogydd m or f ('head-chef'), sièff m or f

Verb

chef (third-person singular simple present chefs, present participle cheffing or (now less common) chefing, simple past cheffed, past participle cheffed or (now less common) chefed)

1. (informal) To work as a chef; to prepare and cook food professionally.
   • 1953, The Deke Quarterly, volume 71, issue 4, page 32:

     It was Brick who talked on alumni relations with the active chapters and who cheffed at our steak fry (more of that later) and Mrs. Cowles who took over  […]

   • 1996, Sonora Review, issue 31, page 110:

     I cheffed part-time at a nice restaurant in town.

   • 2007, Indianapolis Monthly, page 68:

     He opened Oakleys in 2002, having formerly cheffed at the late, much-missed Something Different and, before that, world-renowned kitchens in Chicago […]

   • 2020, William Sitwell, The Restaurant: A History of Eating Out, Simon and Schuster (→ISBN)

     A man called Richard Briggs cheffed at the Globe Tavern on Fleet Street, the White Hart Tavern in Holborn and the Temple Coffee House.

2. (MLE, transitive) To stab with a knife, to shank.
   • 2016, ASAP of 67 (lyrics), “Skeng Man”:

     Still on my knife work chef him up with that rambo

   • 2018 August 9, Taze of SMG (lyrics), “Pallance 2.0”:

     He got cheffed in the A in the head

   • 2018 August 16, Sav12 of 12World (lyrics), “Ks On Who”:

     Third time he was out of luck
     He tripped up and got cheffed

Descendants

• → Russian: ше́фнуть (šéfnutʹ)

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Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from French chef.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsjɛːˀf/, [ˈɕeˀf]

Noun

chef c (singular definite chefen, plural indefinite chefer)

1. A boss; person in charge, person who directly oversees the work being done

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Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French chef.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃɛf/

• chef

  (file)

• Hyphenation: chef
• Rhymes: -ɛf

Noun

chef m (plural chefs, diminutive chefje n, feminine cheffin)

1. A boss, chief, head, leader.

   Synonym: baas

2. A culinary chef, a head cook.

   Synonym: chef-kok

3. Short for a title including chef.

Derived terms

• chef-kok
• sergeant-chef
• stationschef

Descendants

• → Indonesian: sep
• → Papiamentu: shèf

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French

Etymology

From Middle French chief, from Old French chief, from Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput (“head”), from Proto-Italic *kaput, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kauput-, *kaput-. Doublet of cap.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃɛf/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛf
• Homophones: cheffe, cheffes, chefs

Noun

chef m (plural chefs)

D'or au chef de gueules, qui est des Seigneurs de Wiltz.

1. (now literary) head

   opiner du chef

   to nod

2. article, principal point.

   Les principaux chefs d’une demande.

   The main points of a request.

3. principal motive, charge, count of indictment

   Le procureur a tenu à refaire une lecture des chefs d’accusation.

   The prosecutor insisted on reading off the counts of indictment again.

4. (heraldry) chief; top third of a coat of arms

Derived terms

• au premier chef
• chef d'accusation
• chef de bande
• chef de cabinet
• chef de chœur
• chef de file
• chef de guerre
• chef de projet
• chef d'État
• chef-d’œuvre
• chef d'orchestre
• chef-lieu
• couvre-chef
• derechef
• de son chef
• de son propre chef
• en chef
• opiner du chef
• rédacteur en chef
• rédactrice en chef

 

Noun

chef m (plural chefs, feminine cheffe)

Le Chef de l’Hôtel Chatham, William Orpen, 1921.

1. A boss, chief, leader.

   Le pape est le chef de l’Église.

   The pope is the head of the church.

2. A culinary chef, chief cook

   Créant dans des établissements de prestige de nombreuses recettes reprises ensuite par d'autres chefs, Escoffier a fait connaitre internationalement la cuisine française.

   (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Derived terms

• adjudant-chef
• chef de bande
• chef de famille
• chef de file
• chef d'entreprise
• chef de partie
• chef d'État
• chef d'état-major
• chef d'orchestre
• cheffe
• chefferie
• cheftaine
• commandant en chef
• couteau de chef
• en chef
• ingénieur en chef
• sergent-chef
• sous-chef

 

Descendants

• → Arabic: شيف‎ (šēf)
• → Catalan: xef
• → Crimean Tatar: şef
• → Danish: chef
• → Dutch: chef
• → English: chef
• → German: Chef
  • → Serbo-Croatian: ше̏ф/šȅf
• → Hungarian: séf
• → Italian: chef
• → Japanese: シェフ (shefu)
• → Luxembourgish: Chef
• → Norwegian: sjef
• → Polish: szef
• → Portuguese: chef, chefe
• → Romanian: șef
• → Russian: шеф (šef)
  • → Armenian: շեֆ (šef)
• → Spanish: chef
• → Swedish: chef
• → Turkish: şef

Further reading

• “chef”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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Italian

Alternative forms

• scef (uncommon)

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French chef (“head; chief”), from Middle French chief, from Old French chief, from Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput (“head”), from Proto-Italic *kaput, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *káput.
Doublet of capo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): ^*/ˈʃɛf/
• Rhymes: -ɛf

Noun

chef m (invariable)

1. (cooking) chef (head cook)

   Synonym: capocuoco

2. (by extension) a sophisticated cook

Related terms

• sous-chef

References

• chef in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

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Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old French chief, from Latin caput.

Alternative forms

• cheef, cheefe, chefe, chief, chif, chife, chyeef, chyff

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tʃeːf/

Noun

chef (uncountable)

1. A leader, boss, or director; a chief official; one in charge.
2. A authority or source of power; something which controls.
3. The main, important or foundational part of something.
4. The upper or topmost portion of something.
5. (heraldry) The heraldic chief.

Related terms

• bonchef
• chefly
• cheveteyn
• myschef

Descendants

• English: chief
• Scots: chief

References

• “chẹ̄f, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-09-12.

Adjective

chef (plural and weak singular cheve, comparative chever, superlative chevest)

1. Chief, head, top-ranking, executive; being in ultimate control.
2. Principal, foremost, predominant, primary; having the greatest importance.
3. High-quality, outstanding, notable, worthy; deserving recognition.
4. (rare) Infamous; grave.

Descendants

• English: chief
• Scots: chief

References

• “chẹ̄f, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-09-12.

Adverb

chef

1. (rare) Principally, (the) most.

References

• “chẹ̄fe, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-09-12.

Etymology 2

Noun

chef

1. Alternative form of chaf

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Norman

Etymology

From Old French chief, chef, from Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput (“head”), from Proto-Indo-European *kauput-, *kaput-.

Noun

chef m (plural chefs)

1. (Jersey) chief

Derived terms

• chef dé deu (“chief mourner”)
• chef dé musique (“conductor”)

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Old French

Noun

chef m (oblique plural ches, nominative singular ches, nominative plural chef)

1. Alternative form of chief

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Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French chef. Doublet of chefe, cabo, and caput

Noun

chef m, f (plural chefs)

1. chef (the head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant)

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Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish كیف‎ (keyf), from Arabic كَيْف‎ (kayf). Compare Turkish keyif.

Noun

chef n (plural chefuri)

1. (good) disposition, mood

   a nu avea chef de ceva ― to not feel like/be in the mood for something

2. desire, wish
3. (figuratively) appetite
4. whim, caprice
5. shindig, blowout,
6. revelry, binge; by extension, drunkenness

Declension

Declension of chef

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) chef	cheful	(niște) chefuri	chefurile
genitive/dative	(unui) chef	chefului	(unor) chefuri	chefurilor
vocative	chefule		chefurilor

See also

• (disposition) dispoziție
• (wish): dorință
• (appetite): poftă
• (caprice): capriciu, dambla
• (shindig): petrecere, zaiafet
• (drunkenness): beție

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Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from French chef. Doublet of jefe.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃef/, [ˈt͡ʃef]

Noun

chef m or f (plural chefs)

1. a chef, head cook

Related terms

• jefe
• cabeza

Further reading

• “chef”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

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Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from French chef.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɧeːf/, /ɧɛːf/

• audio

  (file)

Noun

chef c

1. A boss, manager; person in charge, person who directly oversees the work being done

Declension

Declension of chef
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	chef	chefen	chefer	cheferna
Genitive	chefs	chefens	chefers	chefernas

Usage notes

False friend with chef, see kock.

Derived terms

• avdelningschef
• butikschef
• försäljningschef
• mellanchef