bœuf French · revision 15639

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=early 12th century, Lois de Guillaume (buef)|origins=la bōs}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /bœf/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''bœuf''' ''m'' (plural bœufs)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''buef'', ''boef'';^(TLFi) ''beuf'' (Villon, mid-15th century); ''bœuf'' from 1534, with the ⟨o⟩ of Latin.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005) The plural ''bœufs'' is pronounced /bø/.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|buef]], [[inh|la|bōs|t=ox, cow]] (accusative [[m|la|bovem]]).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|1, 445a) Rey explains ''bōs'' as a dialect form preferred to the native Roman development, from an Indo-European word for cattle also seen in [[grc|βοῦς|tr=boûs]], [[sa|गो|tr=gó|t=cow]] and [[en|cow]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary) Latin used ''bōs'' for both sexes; [[vache]] took over the female.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|bue]], [[ro|bou]], [[ca|bou]], [[es|buey]] and [[pt|boi]].^(Littré 1873)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Lois de Guillaume'' (early 12th century) have ''buef'' for a castrated bull, an ox.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By the end of the 12th century it also meant beef as meat (''Roman de Renart''),^(TLFi) whence ''bœuf à la mode'' (1651) and ''bœuf bourguignon''.^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary) Proverbs include ''mettre la charrue devant les bœufs'' “to put the cart before the horse” (1579) and ''qui vole un œuf vole un bœuf''.^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary) Figuratively it is a hard worker (''travailler comme un bœuf'', 1547) or a dull, stupid person (Molière, 1661).^(TLFi)

+

+ Saint-Cyr cadets' slang made ''bœuf'' an adjective “great, enormous” (1861), as in ''un effet bœuf''.^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary) In jazz ''faire un bœuf'' “to jam” comes from the Paris cabaret Le Bœuf sur le toit, where musicians held jam sessions.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * early 12th century – ''Buef'' “ox”.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * late 12th century – Beef as meat.^(TLFi)

+ * mid-15th century – ''Beuf'' (Villon).^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 1534 – The spelling ''bœuf'' (Rabelais).^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ * 1579 – ''Mettre la charrue devant les bœufs''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1651 – ''Bœuf à la mode''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1861 – Slang adjective “great”.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An [[m|en|ox]] or [[m|en|bullock]], a castrated bull.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # [[m|en|beef|alt=Beef]]: ''bœuf bourguignon''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(zoology)'' Cattle in general, the bovine species.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+ # ''(jazz)'' A [[m|en|jam session]]: ''faire un bœuf''.^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(Quebec, slang, derogatory)'' A police officer.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(familiar)'' Great, tremendous: ''un effet bœuf''.^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bouverie]]

+ * [[bouvillon]]

+ * [[bouvreuil]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[bouvier]]

+ * [[vache]]

+ * [[la|bōs]]

+ * [[en|beef]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}