Hypertext Webster Gateway: "beef"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
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, {B. 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).]
A herd of beeves, fair oxen and fair kine.
--Milton.
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.
3. Applied colloquially to human flesh.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Beef \Beef\, a.
Of, pertaining to, or resembling, beef.
{Beef tea}, essence of beef, or strong beef broth.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
beef
n 1: cattle that are reared for their meat [syn: {beef cattle}]
2: meat from an adult domestic bovine [syn: {boeuf}]
3: informal terms for objecting; "I have a gripe about the
service here" [syn: {gripe}, {kick}, {bitch}, {squawk}]
v : complain; "What was he hollering about?" [syn: {gripe}, {grouse},
{squawk}, {bellyache}, {holler}]
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