Etymologically
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chef

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 05:49. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʃɛf/, /t͡ʃɛf/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French chef (“head”), short for chef de cuisine (“head of the kitchen”),[2][3][4] from Old French chief (“leader, head”) (see chief), from Latin caput (“head”).[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A head cook: 1826, in Disraeli's Vivian Grey;[2] 1840 in MWU, 1842 in the OED and Etymonline.[6][7][3]

Semantic evolution

Any professional cook, especially in a restaurant or hotel, is now a chef.[8][5] The verb, to work as a chef, is from 1912 in MWU.[6] English had earlier borrowed the same French word as chief.[3][5]

Timeline

  • 1826 – a head cook, in Disraeli.[2]
  • 1912 – the verb.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A professional cook, especially the chief cook in a restaurant or hotel.

Word family

  • chefdom

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  6. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin