Many are confused by the word "beef". After all, the meat of a pig is called pork, lamb - lamb, and chicken - chicken. So why is cow meat called beef? The answer originates from the time of the existence of Russia and is captured in etymological dictionaries.
Etymological origin of the word "beef"
In Russia, the term "beef" was used for cattle meat. Semenov's etymological dictionary indicates that "beef" comes from the common Slavic word govedo, which means "bull" or "cattle".
In turn, the word govedo comes from the Indo-European root gou, so it is very consonant with foreign words of the same meaning. These include:
- govs (in Indo-European);
- cow (in English);
- kov (in Armenian).
In addition to a detailed interpretation, Dahl described to the smallest detail all parts of the beef from head to rump.
All these words in translation mean "cow".
Dahl's explanatory dictionary, as well as the etymological dictionaries of Semenov and Krylov, interpret the word "beef" in the same way - bull, cow, cattle. However, Dahl focuses on the bull, specifying that the adjective “beef” means “taken from the bull”. Thus, the word "beef" is more accurately translated as "meat taken from the bull."
Beef: a culinary vocabulary
It is known that in the old days the word "beef" meant the meat of a bull, since people used a cow to get milk. Cow meat was not eaten at all, except for hard times during hunger.
However, the current economic situation does not allow adhering to such a food culture. The meat of cows is systematically used in nutrition, but it is called - as before - the word "beef", although it would be more correct to call it "beef". In Russia, the meat of cattle (bulls and cows) is not separated by gender, but has a common name - beef.
Cow or ox meat in Western Europe is considered a second-rate product and is rarely used.
Thus, this word disguises the real origin of this product. In turn, the term "veal" refers to young meat, which is of higher quality. In Western European cooking, the term "beef" is not used. For cooking meat dishes, including fried steaks, they use veal or bull meat.
Depending on the age of the animal, in cooking, beef is classified as:
- dairy veal - meat of young calves (2 weeks - 3 months);
- young beef - 3 months - 3 years;
- beef - over 3 years old.
