beef

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English

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Etymology

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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

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Noun

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

A chunk of beef (sense 1)
  2. (uncountable) The meat from cattle or other bovines.
    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?
    • 1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “[Book VIII.] Of Scythian beasts, and those that are bred in the North parts.”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. […], 1st tome, London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC, pages 199–200:
      Howbeit, that country bringeth forth certain kinds of goodly great wild bœufes: to wit, the Biſontes, mained with a collar, like Lions: and the Vri, a mightie ſtrong beaſt, and a ſwift: which the ignorant people call Buffles, whereas indeed the Buffle is bred in Affrica, and carieth ſome reſemblance of a calfe rather, or a ſtag.
    • 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[1], 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) […]

Usage notes

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A calf is a bovine, so, technically, the flesh of a calf, used for food, is beef. However, it is not common to use this term for the flesh of a calf; instead, it is referred to with the more specific term veal.

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • → Portuguese: bife
  • → Spanish: bife

Translations

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See also

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Verb

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

  1. (intransitive, slang) To complain.
  2. (transitive, slang) 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. (intransitive, chiefly Yorkshire) To cry.
    David was beefing last night after Ruth told him off.
  5. (transitive, slang) To fail or mess up.
    I beefed my presentation hard yesterday.
  6. (chiefly 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.
  7. (intransitive, slang, Australia) To sing or speak loudly; to cry out.

Derived terms

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Adjective

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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!
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Translations

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References

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  1. ^ “Origin of the Slang AmE and BrE Usage of “Beef””, in StackExchange, 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

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Afrikaans

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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

  1. Alternative form of bewe

Dutch

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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beef

  1. inflection of beven:
    1. first-person singular present indicative
    2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
    3. imperative
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