Wiktionary

chef

See also: Chef, chèf, and chef-

English

edit

Etymology

edit

Unadapted borrowing from French chef (from the positions of chef d'office and chef de cuisine),[1] from Old French chief (“head, leader”) (English chief), from Vulgar Latin capus (“head”) (from which also captain, chieftain), from Latin caput (“head”) (possibly related to English cap (“head covering”)).

Doublet of cape, capo, caput, and chief through Latin, and head and Howth through Proto-Indo-European.

Pronunciation

edit
  • IPA(key): /ʃɛf/, (spelling pronunciation) /t͡ʃɛf/
  • Audio (General Australian):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛf

Noun

edit

chef (plural chefs)

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
  1. The presiding cook in the kitchen of a large household.
    • a. 1845, R. H. Barham, Blasphemer's Warning in Ingoldsby Legends (1847), 3rd Ser., 245
      The Chef's peace of mind was restor'd, And in due time a banquet was placed on the board.
  2. The head cook of a restaurant or other establishment.
  3. Any cook.
    My partner is the chef of the household, while I do most of the cleaning.
  4. (slang) One who manufactures illegal drugs; a cook.
    • 1998, SPIN, volume 14, number 3, page 100:
      But trying to stop all the nation's meth chefs makes as much sense as building a wall along the Mexican border.
    • 2013, Mike Power, Drugs 2.0:
      Owsley Stanley, the world's most exacting and prolific LSD chef who supplied the majority of America's West Coast with LSD in the 1960s, claimed he made so much acid not because he wanted to change the world, but rather because it was almost impossible not to make vast quantities of the drug once the synthesis had been embarked upon.
  5. (historical) A reliquary in the shape of a head.

Usage notes

edit
  • When used in reference to a cook with no sous-chefs or other workers beneath him, the term connotes a certain degree of prestige—whether culinary education or ability—distinguishing the chef from a “cook”. As a borrowing, chef was originally italicized, but such treatment is now obsolete.

Within a catering establishment, the head cook (and no-one else) will normally be addressed simply as "chef" as a term of respect.

Synonyms

edit

Hypernyms

edit

Derived terms

edit
edit

Descendants

edit
  • → Afrikaans: sjef
  • → Malay: cef
  • → Maltese: xeff
  • → Thai: เชฟ (chéep)

Translations

edit

Verb

edit

chef (third-person singular simple present chefs, present participle cheffing, simple past and past participle cheffed)

  1. (stative, informal) To work as a chef; to prepare and cook food professionally.
    • 1953, The Deke Quarterly, volume 71, number 4, page 32:
      It was Brick who talked on alumni relations with the active chapters and who cheffed at our steak fry (more of that later) and Mrs. Cowles who took over  […]
    • 1996, Sonora Review, number 31, page 110:
      I cheffed part-time at a nice restaurant in town.
    • 2007, Indianapolis Monthly, page 68:
      He opened Oakleys in 2002, having formerly cheffed at the late, much-missed Something Different and, before that, world-renowned kitchens in Chicago […]
    • 2020, William Sitwell, The Restaurant: A History of Eating Out, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:
      A man called Richard Briggs cheffed at the Globe Tavern on Fleet Street, the White Hart Tavern in Holborn and the Temple Coffee House.
  2. (MLE, transitive) To stab with a knife, to shank.
    Synonyms: ching, splash; see also Thesaurus:stab
    He got cheffed up proper.
    • 2016, “Skeng Man”, ASAP of 67 (lyrics):
      Still on my knife work chef him up with that rambo
    • 2017 June 13, @louistheroux, Twitter‎[1], archived from the original on 8 November 2023:
      Child just said he'd "chef me up". I said not hungry, but it restored my faith in young generation, offering to cook for strangers.
    • 2018 August 9, “Pallance 2.0”, Taze of SMG (lyrics):
      He got cheffed in the A in the head
    • 2018 August 16, “Ks On Who”, Sav12 of 12World (lyrics):
      Third time he was out of luck
      He tripped up and got cheffed
    • 2019 October 9, Manuel Petrovic, quotee, “Jodie Chesney: Killer targeted 'wrong people' court told”, in BBC News‎[2], archived from the original on 6 November 2019:
      Asked how he knew that, he replied: "Uh? Because I know that ... It was to do with Svenson's op - they cheffed him up a couple of month or something, a couple of months before.
  3. (Internet slang) To impress others.
    • 2020, “Drip Like Me”, performed by Kenndog:
      thinkin' that I be cheffin'.'

Derived terms

edit

Descendants

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ “chef”, in OED Online  ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

Basque

edit

Etymology

edit

Unadapted borrowing from French chef.

Pronunciation

edit
  • IPA(key): /t͡ʃef/ [t͡ʃef], /ʃef/ [ʃef]
  • Rhymes: -ef
  • Hyphenation: chef

Noun

edit

chef anim

  1. chef (head cook)
    Synonym: sukaldariburu

Declension

edit
Declension of chef (anim C-stem)
indefinite singular plural proximal plural
absolutive chef chefa chefak chefok
ergative chefek chefak chefek chefok
dative chefi chefari chefei chefoi
genitive chefen chefaren chefen chefon
comitative chefekin chefarekin chefekin chefokin
causative chefengatik chefarengatik chefengatik chefongatik
benefactive chefentzat chefarentzat chefentzat chefontzat
instrumental chefez chefaz chefez chefotaz
inessive chefengan chefarengan chefengan chefongan
locative — — — —
allative chefengana chefarengana chefengana chefongana
terminative chefenganaino chefarenganaino chefenganaino chefonganaino
directive chefenganantz chefarenganantz chefenganantz chefonganantz
destinative chefenganako chefarenganako chefenganako chefonganako
ablative chefengandik chefarengandik chefengandik chefongandik
partitive chefik — — —
prolative cheftzat — — —

Further reading

edit
  • “chef”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy] (in Basque), Euskaltzaindia [Royal Academy of the Basque Language]

Danish

edit

Etymology

edit

Unadapted borrowing from French chef.

Pronunciation

edit
  • IPA(key): /ˈsjɛːˀf/, [ˈɕeˀf]

Noun

edit

chef c (singular definite chefen, plural indefinite chefer)

  1. A boss; person in charge, person who directly oversees the work being done
    Synonym: (informal) boss

Declension

edit
Declension of chef
common
gender 		singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative chef chefen chefer cheferne
genitive chefs chefens chefers chefernes

Derived terms

edit

See also

edit

References

edit

Dutch

edit

Etymology

edit

Unadapted borrowing from French chef.

Pronunciation

edit

Noun

edit

chef m (plural chefs, diminutive chefje n, feminine cheffin)

  1. a boss, chief, head, leader
    Synonym: baas
  2. a culinary chef, a head cook
    Synonym: chef-kok
  3. Short for a title including chef.
  4. (Suriname) A form of address to a working-class man
    Chef, halte hoor.
    Driver, I'd like to get off the bus here.

Derived terms

edit

Descendants

edit

French

edit
French Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia fr

Etymology

edit

    Inherited from Middle French chief, from Old French chief, from Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput (“head”), from Proto-Italic *kaput, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kauput-, *kaput-. Doublet of cap.

    Pronunciation

    edit

    Noun

    edit

    chef m (plural chefs)

     
    D'or au chef de gueules, qui est des Seigneurs de Wiltz.
    1. (now literary) head
      opiner du chef
      to nod
    2. article, principal point
      les principaux chefs d’une demande
      the main points of a request
    3. principal motive, charge, count of indictment
      Le procureur a tenu à refaire une lecture des chefs d’accusation.
      The prosecutor insisted on reading off the counts of indictment again.
    4. (heraldry) chief; top third of a coat of arms
      d'or au chef de gueules
      or, a chief gules

    Derived terms

    edit

    Noun

    edit

    chef m (plural chefs, feminine cheffe)

     
    Le Chef de l’Hôtel Chatham, William Orpen, 1921.
    1. a boss, chief, leader
      Le pape est le chef de l’Église.
      The pope is the head of the church.
    2. a culinary chef, chief cook
      Créant dans des établissements de prestige de nombreuses recettes reprises ensuite par d'autres chefs, Escoffier a fait connaitre internationalement la cuisine française.
      Creating in prestigious establishments many recipes that were later taken up by other cooks, Escoffier made French cuisine internationally known.

    Derived terms

    edit
    edit

    Descendants

    edit

    Further reading

    edit

    Italian

    edit

    Alternative forms

    edit

    Etymology

    edit

    Unadapted borrowing from French chef (“head; chief”), from Middle French chief, from Old French chief, from Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput (“head”), from Proto-Italic *kaput, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *káput. Doublet of capo.

    Pronunciation

    edit

    Noun

    edit

    chef m (invariable)

    1. (cooking) chef (head cook)
      Synonym: capocuoco
    2. (by extension) a sophisticated cook
    edit

    References

    edit
    1. ^ chef in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

    Further reading

    edit
    • chef in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

    Middle English

    edit

    Etymology 1

    edit

    From Old French chief, from Latin caput.

    Alternative forms

    edit

    Pronunciation

    edit

    Noun

    edit

    chef (uncountable)

    1. A leader, boss, or director; a chief official; one in charge.
    2. An authority or source of power; something which controls.
    3. The main, important or foundational part of something.
    4. The upper or topmost portion of something.
    5. (heraldry) The heraldic chief.
    edit
    Descendants
    edit
    • English: chief (see there for further descendants)
    • Scots: chief
    References
    edit

    Adjective

    edit

    chef (plural and weak singular cheve, comparative chever, superlative chevest)

    1. Chief, head, top-ranking, executive; being in ultimate control.
    2. Principal, foremost, predominant, primary; having the greatest importance.
    3. High-quality, outstanding, notable, worthy; deserving recognition.
    4. (rare) Infamous; grave.
    Derived terms
    edit
    Descendants
    edit
    References
    edit

    Adverb

    edit

    chef

    1. (rare) Principally, (the) most.
    References
    edit

    Etymology 2

    edit

    Noun

    edit

    chef

    1. alternative form of chaf

    Norman

    edit

    Etymology

    edit

    From Old French chief, chef, from Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput (“head”), from Proto-Indo-European *kauput-, *kaput-.

    Noun

    edit

    chef m (plural chefs)

    1. (Jersey) chief

    Derived terms

    edit

    Old French

    edit

    Noun

    edit

    chef oblique singular, m (oblique plural ches, nominative singular ches, nominative plural chef)

    1. alternative form of chief

    Portuguese

    edit

    Etymology

    edit

    Unadapted borrowing from French chef.

    Pronunciation

    edit
     
     

    Noun

    edit

    chef m or f by sense (plural chefs)

    1. alternative form of chefe (the head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant)

    Further reading

    edit

    Romanian

    edit

    Etymology

    edit

    Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish كیف (keyf), from Arabic كَيْف (kayf). Compare Turkish keyif.

    Noun

    edit

    chef n (plural chefuri)

    1. (good) disposition, mood
      a nu avea chef de ceva ― to not feel like/be in the mood for something
    2. desire, wish
    3. (figuratively) appetite
    4. whim, caprice
    5. shindig, blowout,
    6. revelry, binge; by extension, drunkenness

    Declension

    edit
    singular plural
    indefinite definite indefinite definite
    nominative-accusative chef cheful chefuri chefurile
    genitive-dative chef chefului chefuri chefurilor
    vocative chefule chefurilor

    See also

    edit

    Spanish

    edit

    Etymology

    edit

    Unadapted borrowing from French chef. Doublet of jefe and cabo.

    Pronunciation

    edit
    • IPA(key): /ˈt͡ʃef/ [ˈt͡ʃef]
      • Syllabification: chef
    • IPA(key): /ˈʃef/ [ˈʃef]
    • Rhymes: -ef

    Noun

    edit

    chef m or f by sense (plural chefs)

    1. chef, head cook

    Usage notes

    edit
    • According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.
    edit

    Further reading

    edit

    Swedish

    edit

    Etymology

    edit

    Unadapted borrowing from French chef.

    Pronunciation

    edit

    Noun

    edit

    chef c

    1. A boss, manager; person in charge, person who directly oversees the work being done

    Usage notes

    edit

    False friend with chef, see kock.

    Declension

    edit
    Declension of chef
    nominative genitive
    singular indefinite chef chefs
    definite chefen chefens
    plural indefinite chefer chefers
    definite cheferna chefernas

    Derived terms

    edit
    Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=chef&oldid=90749654"