Pig meat is called pork, lamb - lamb, chicken - chicken. Using such analogies, it is rather difficult to understand why a certain type of meat is called beef.
How did the word "beef" come about?
The word "beef" in Russian is usually called not only the meat of a cow, but also the meat of cattle. This category includes meat from cows, bulls, calves and oxen.
This word has an ancient origin. However, it is worth noting that in the days of Russia only cow meat was called so; the word acquired a broader meaning in the 20th century.
In the etymological dictionary of Krylov, it is noted that the word "beef" comes from the common ancient Slavic or ancient Greek word govedo, which means "cattle" in translation. The word beef has analogues in other ancient languages. For example, in Armenian it is spelled kov, in Indo-European it is govs, and in English derived from Latin it is cow.
In all the languages considered, this word has a common similar root, but the suffix edo can be misleading.
In the "Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language" by Vladimir Dahl, the word "beef" is given special meaning. It is accompanied by an illustration of cow meat. In addition, the dictionary contains an interpretation of the word "beef", which has an identical meaning. And the word "beef" is interpreted as "taken from the bull." Dahl describes in detail all parts of the beef from head to rump.
Features of the terminology of the word "beef"
In deciphering the terminology of the word "beef", the main role is played by the cultural and economic development of the inhabitants of Russia, who called the cow "govedo", and its meat - "beef". Mostly cows were kept for milk, and their meat was not eaten. This only happened during famine or during wars. However, the current situation in the post-Soviet countries has changed dramatically. Nowadays, the food culture differs from the one that was several centuries ago.
Cow meat is systematically eaten, but it continues to be called "beef" as before. It turns out that the word masks the real quality of the meat, and the word "veal" is used to refer to the meat of a higher grade of a young bull or cow.
In most European countries, there is no such thing as "beef" in cooking. For the preparation of meat dishes, only bovine or veal meat is used. Cow and ox meat is used extremely rarely, mainly as second-grade meat.
The name of the beef differs according to the age of the animals. The meat of young calves from two weeks to three months is called dairy veal. Cows under three years old are young beef, and over three years old - just beef.
