chef
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from French chef (from the positions of chef d'office and chef de cuisine),[1] 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 and caput.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
chef (plural chefs)
- The presiding cook in the kitchen of a large household.
- a. 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.
- a. 1845, R. H. Barham, Blasphemer's Warning in Ingoldsby Legends (1847), 3rd Ser., 245
- The head cook of a restaurant or other establishment.
- 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter XXVIII, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume I, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849, →OCLC, page 266:
- The angry little chef of Sir Francis Clavering's culinary establishment.
- Any cook.
- My husband is the chef of the household, while I do most of the cleaning.
- (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.
- (historical) A reliquary in the shape of a head.
Usage notes[edit]
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.
Synonyms[edit]
- (cook, particularly a learned or skilful one): magirist, magirologist (obs.)
Hypernyms[edit]
- (cook): cook
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
|
Verb[edit]
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)
- (stative, informal) To work as a chef; to prepare and cook food professionally.
- 1953, The Deke Quarterly, volume 71, number 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, number 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.
- (MLE, transitive) To stab with a knife, to shank.
- 2016, “Skeng Man”, ASAP of 67 (lyrics):
- Still on my knife work chef him up with that rambo
- 2018 August 9, “Pallance 2.0”, Taze of SMG (lyrics):
- He got cheffed in the A in the head
- 2018 August 16, “Ks On Who”, Sav12 of 12World (lyrics):
- Third time he was out of luck
He tripped up and got cheffed
Descendants[edit]
- → Russian: ше́фнуть (šéfnutʹ)
References[edit]
- ^ “chef”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
Basque[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
chef anim
- chef (head cook)
- Synonym: sukaldariburu
Declension[edit]
indefinite | singular | plural | |
---|---|---|---|
absolutive | chef | chefa | chefak |
ergative | chefek | chefak | chefek |
dative | chefi | chefari | chefei |
genitive | chefen | chefaren | chefen |
comitative | chefekin | chefarekin | chefekin |
causative | chefengatik | chefarengatik | chefengatik |
benefactive | chefentzat | chefarentzat | chefentzat |
instrumental | chefez | chefaz | chefez |
inessive | chefengan | chefarengan | chefengan |
locative | — | — | — |
allative | chefengana | chefarengana | chefengana |
terminative | chefenganaino | chefarenganaino | chefenganaino |
directive | chefenganantz | chefarenganantz | chefenganantz |
destinative | chefenganako | chefarenganako | chefenganako |
ablative | chefengandik | chefarengandik | chefengandik |
partitive | chefik | — | — |
prolative | cheftzat | — | — |
Further reading[edit]
- "chef" in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy], euskaltzaindia.eus
Danish[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
chef c (singular definite chefen, plural indefinite chefer)
- A boss; person in charge, person who directly oversees the work being done
Dutch[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
chef m (plural chefs, diminutive chefje n, feminine cheffin)
- A boss, chief, head, leader.
- Synonym: baas
- A culinary chef, a head cook.
- Synonym: chef-kok
- Short for a title including chef.
Derived terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
French[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Inherited 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[edit]
Noun[edit]
chef m (plural chefs)

- (now literary) head
- opiner du chef
- to nod
- article, principal point
- les principaux chefs d’une demande
- the main points of a request
- 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.
- (heraldry) chief; top third of a coat of arms
Derived terms[edit]
Noun[edit]
chef m (plural chefs, feminine cheffe)

- a boss, chief, leader
- Le pape est le chef de l’Église.
- The pope is the head of the church.
- 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.
- Creating in prestigious establishments caused many of his recipes to be later taken up by other cooks, and thus Escoffier made French cuisine internationally known.
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
- → Arabic: شيف (šēf)
- → Catalan: xef
- → Crimean Tatar: şef
- → Danish: chef
- → Greek: σεφ (sef)
- → Dutch: chef
- → English: chef
- → German: Chef
- → Hungarian: séf
- → Italian: chef
- → Japanese: シェフ (shefu)
- → Luxembourgish: Chef
- → Norwegian: sjef
- → Polish: szef
- → Portuguese: chef, chefe
- → Romanian: șef
- → Russian: шеф (šef), шефъ (šef)
- → Armenian: շեֆ (šef)
- → Spanish: chef
- → Swedish: chef
- → Turkish: şef
- → Yiddish: שעף (shef)
Further reading[edit]
- “chef”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Italian[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- scef (uncommon)
Etymology[edit]
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[edit]
Noun[edit]
chef m (invariable)
- (cooking) chef (head cook)
- Synonym: capocuoco
- (by extension) a sophisticated cook
Related terms[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ chef in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)
Further reading[edit]
- chef in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
Middle English[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
From Old French chief, from Latin caput.
Alternative forms[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
chef (uncountable)
- A leader, boss, or director; a chief official; one in charge.
- An authority or source of power; something which controls.
- The main, important or foundational part of something.
- The upper or topmost portion of something.
- (heraldry) The heraldic chief.
Related terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
References[edit]
- “chẹ̄f, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-09-12.
Adjective[edit]
chef (plural and weak singular cheve, comparative chever, superlative chevest)
- Chief, head, top-ranking, executive; being in ultimate control.
- Principal, foremost, predominant, primary; having the greatest importance.
- High-quality, outstanding, notable, worthy; deserving recognition.
- (rare) Infamous; grave.
Descendants[edit]
References[edit]
- “chẹ̄f, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-09-12.
Adverb[edit]
chef
- (rare) Principally, (the) most.
References[edit]
- “chẹ̄fe, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-09-12.
Etymology 2[edit]
Noun[edit]
chef
- Alternative form of chaf
Norman[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Old French chief, chef, from Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput (“head”), from Proto-Indo-European *kauput-, *kaput-.
Noun[edit]
chef m (plural chefs)
Derived terms[edit]
- chef dé deu (“chief mourner”)
- chef dé musique (“conductor”)
Old French[edit]
Noun[edit]
chef m (oblique plural ches, nominative singular ches, nominative plural chef)
- Alternative form of chief
Portuguese[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Unadapted borrowing from French chef.
Noun[edit]
chef m or f by sense (plural chefs)
- Alternative form of chefe (the head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant)
Romanian[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish كیف (keyf), from Arabic كَيْف (kayf). Compare Turkish keyif.
Noun[edit]
chef n (plural chefuri)
- (good) disposition, mood
- desire, wish
- (figurative) appetite
- whim, caprice
- shindig, blowout,
- revelry, binge; by extension, drunkenness
Declension[edit]
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[edit]
- (disposition) dispoziție
- (wish): dorință
- (appetite): poftă
- (caprice): capriciu, dambla
- (shindig): petrecere, zaiafet
- (drunkenness): beție
Spanish[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Unadapted borrowing from French chef. Doublet of jefe and cabo.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
chef m or f by sense (plural chefs)
Usage notes[edit]
According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.
Related terms[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- “chef”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
Swedish[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
chef c
Usage notes[edit]
False friend with chef, see kock.
Declension[edit]
Declension of chef | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | chef | chefen | chefer | cheferna |
Genitive | chefs | chefens | chefers | chefernas |
Derived terms[edit]
- English terms borrowed from French
- English terms derived from French
- English terms derived from Old French
- English doublets
- English terms derived from Vulgar Latin
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɛf
- Rhymes:English/ɛf/1 syllable
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with usage examples
- English slang
- English terms with historical senses
- English verbs
- English stative verbs
- English informal terms
- Multicultural London English
- English transitive verbs
- en:Occupations
- en:People
- Basque terms borrowed from French
- Basque terms derived from French
- Basque terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Basque/ef
- Rhymes:Basque/ef/1 syllable
- Basque lemmas
- Basque nouns
- Basque terms spelled with C
- Basque animate nouns
- Danish terms borrowed from French
- Danish terms derived from French
- Danish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Danish lemmas
- Danish nouns
- Danish terms spelled with C
- Danish common-gender nouns
- Dutch terms borrowed from French
- Dutch terms derived from French
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Dutch terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɛf
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɛf/1 syllable
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch nouns with plural in -s
- Dutch masculine nouns
- nl:Occupations
- French terms inherited from Middle French
- French terms derived from Middle French
- French terms inherited from Old French
- French terms derived from Old French
- French terms inherited from Vulgar Latin
- French terms derived from Vulgar Latin
- French terms inherited from Latin
- French terms derived from Latin
- French terms inherited from Proto-Italic
- French terms derived from Proto-Italic
- French terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- French doublets
- French 1-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with audio links
- Rhymes:French/ɛf
- French terms with homophones
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French masculine nouns
- French literary terms
- French terms with usage examples
- fr:Heraldic charges
- Italian terms borrowed from French
- Italian unadapted borrowings from French
- Italian terms derived from French
- Italian terms derived from Middle French
- Italian terms derived from Old French
- Italian terms derived from Vulgar Latin
- Italian terms derived from Latin
- Italian terms derived from Proto-Italic
- Italian terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Italian doublets
- Italian 1-syllable words
- Italian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Italian/ɛf
- Rhymes:Italian/ɛf/1 syllable
- Italian lemmas
- Italian nouns
- Italian indeclinable nouns
- Italian countable nouns
- Italian masculine nouns
- it:Cooking
- it:Occupations
- Middle English terms borrowed from Old French
- Middle English terms derived from Old French
- Middle English terms derived from Latin
- Middle English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English nouns
- Middle English uncountable nouns
- enm:Heraldry
- Middle English adjectives
- Middle English terms with rare senses
- Middle English adverbs
- enm:Leaders
- Norman terms inherited from Old French
- Norman terms derived from Old French
- Norman terms inherited from Vulgar Latin
- Norman terms derived from Vulgar Latin
- Norman terms inherited from Latin
- Norman terms derived from Latin
- Norman terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Norman lemmas
- Norman nouns
- Norman masculine nouns
- Jersey Norman
- Old French lemmas
- Old French nouns
- Old French masculine nouns
- fro:Anatomy
- Portuguese terms borrowed from French
- Portuguese unadapted borrowings from French
- Portuguese terms derived from French
- Portuguese lemmas
- Portuguese nouns
- Portuguese countable nouns
- Portuguese masculine nouns
- Portuguese feminine nouns
- Portuguese nouns with multiple genders
- Portuguese masculine and feminine nouns by sense
- Romanian terms borrowed from Ottoman Turkish
- Romanian terms derived from Ottoman Turkish
- Romanian terms derived from Arabic
- Romanian lemmas
- Romanian nouns
- Romanian countable nouns
- Romanian neuter nouns
- Romanian terms with usage examples
- Spanish terms borrowed from French
- Spanish unadapted borrowings from French
- Spanish terms derived from French
- Spanish doublets
- Spanish 1-syllable words
- Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Spanish/ef
- Rhymes:Spanish/ef/1 syllable
- Spanish lemmas
- Spanish nouns
- Spanish countable nouns
- Spanish masculine nouns
- Spanish feminine nouns
- Spanish nouns with multiple genders
- Spanish masculine and feminine nouns by sense
- es:Occupations
- Swedish terms borrowed from French
- Swedish terms derived from French
- Swedish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Swedish terms with audio links
- Swedish lemmas
- Swedish nouns
- Swedish common-gender nouns