Beef comes from the French vocabulary
When the Normans took over Britain in 1066, they brought the French language with them, and French was brought into everyday life (via The Daily Meal).
The French conquerors were of a higher class than the Anglo-Saxons who lived in Britain at the time. The Anglo-Saxon folks were hunting, gathering, and farming these animals, whereas the French would sit at the dining table and enjoy them after the fact (via Alpine Butcher). As a result, the terms that the French used for these meats stuck when it comes to talking about them in the culinary sense, which meant that the English word “beef” cames from the French for cow — boeuf. The same can be said for the meat called “pork” — it comes from the French word, porc, which means pig.
Interestingly, chicken was initially part of this phenomenon as well. Poulet, the French word for chicken, was changed to “pullet,” but over time, this term came to be reserved for young hens rather than chickens in general.
Because the French word poisson is a little too similar to the English word “poison,” it is believed that the concept didn’t quite catch on with fish. “.
The Journey of a Beef Cow
FAQ
Why is beef called beef and not cow meat?
While both words share the same Indo-European root *gwou-, the word beef is derived from the Latin word bs, while the word cow is derived from Middle English. French-speaking nobles who ruled England after the Norman Conquest naturally used French terms to describe the meats they were served.
Why is cow called beef but chicken is called chicken?
The word is chicken. Words like beef and pork are actually the exceptions because it is much more common to refer to meat by the name of the animal from which it originated, whereas chicken abides by a stricter rule. Duck is another type of meat for which we don’t have specific terminology.
Why is cow called beef and pig called pork?
Traditions and language mixed somewhat during William the Conqueror’s reign as English started to advance. For Norman chefs, the word “cow” was initially pronounced “beuf,” which later became “beef,” and the word “pig” was initially pronounced “pauk,” which eventually became the current “pork.”
Is cow called beef?
Compared to veal, which is the flesh of calf, beef is the flesh of mature cattle.