From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Beef \Beef\ (b[=e]f), n. [OE. boef, befe, beef, OF. boef, buef,
F. b[oe]ef, fr. L. bos, bovis, ox; akin to Gr. boy^s, Skr.
g[=o] cow, and E. cow. See 2d {Cow}.]
1. An animal of the genus {Bos}, especially the common
species, {Bos taurus}, including the bull, cow, and ox, in
their full grown state; esp., an ox or cow fattened for
food.
Note: [In this, which is the original sense, the word has a
plural, beeves (b[=e]vz).]
[1913 Webster]
A herd of beeves, fair oxen and fair kine.
--Milton.
[1913 Webster]
2. The flesh of an ox, or cow, or of any adult bovine animal,
when slaughtered for food.
Note: [In this sense, the word has no plural.] "Great meals
of beef." --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
3. Applied colloquially to human flesh.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Beef \Beef\ (b[=e]f), a.
Of, pertaining to, or resembling, beef.
[1913 Webster]
{Beef tea}, essence of beef, or strong beef broth.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
beef
n 1: cattle that are reared for their meat [syn: {beef}, {beef
cattle}]
2: meat from an adult domestic bovine [syn: {beef}, {boeuf}]
3: informal terms for objecting; "I have a gripe about the
service here" [syn: {gripe}, {kick}, {beef}, {bitch},
{squawk}]
v 1: complain; "What was he hollering about?" [syn: {gripe},
{bitch}, {grouse}, {crab}, {beef}, {squawk}, {bellyache},
{holler}]
|