chef

chef

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples & translations of chef in English

English Online Dictionary. What means chef‎? What does chef mean?

English

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French chef (from the positions of chef d’office and chef de cuisine), 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”)), from Proto-Indo-European *kauput-. Doublet of cape, capo, caput, and chief through Latin, and head and Howth through Proto-Indo-European.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʃɛf/, (spelling pronunciation) /t͡ʃɛf/
  • Rhymes: -ɛf

Noun

chef (plural chefs)

  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.
  4. (slang) One who manufactures illegal drugs; a cook.
  5. (historical) A reliquary in the shape of a head.

Usage notes

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

  • (cook, particularly a learned or skilful one): magirist, magirologist (obs.)

Hypernyms

  • (cook): cook

Derived terms

Descendants

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

Translations

Verb

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

  1. (stative, informal) To work as a chef; to prepare and cook food professionally.
  2. (MLE, transitive) To stab with a knife, to shank.
    Synonyms: ching, splash; see also Thesaurus:stab
  3. (Internet slang) To impress others.

Descendants

  • →⇒ Russian: ше́фнуть (šéfnutʹ)

References

Basque

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French chef.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

chef anim

  1. chef (head cook)
    Synonym: sukaldariburu

Declension

Further reading

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

Danish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French chef.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈsjɛːˀf/, [ˈɕeˀf]

Noun

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

Derived terms

See also

  • overordnet
  • foresat

References

  • “chef” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French chef.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʃɛf/
  • Hyphenation: chef
  • Rhymes: -ɛf

Noun

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

Derived terms

  • chef-kok
  • sergeant-chef
  • stationschef

Descendants

  • → Caribbean Javanese: sèf
  • → Indonesian: sep
  • → Javanese: ꦱꦺꦥ꧀ (sèp)
  • → Papiamentu: shèf

French

Etymology

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

  • IPA(key): /ʃɛf/
  • Rhymes: -ɛf
  • Homophones: cheffe, cheffes, chefs

Noun

chef m (plural chefs)

  1. (now literary) head
  2. article, principal point
  3. principal motive, charge, count of indictment
  4. (heraldry) chief; top third of a coat of arms

Derived terms

Noun

chef m (plural chefs, feminine cheffe)

  1. a boss, chief, leader
  2. a culinary chef, chief cook

Derived terms

Related terms

  • achever
  • achèvement

Descendants

Further reading

  • “chef”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Italian

Alternative forms

  • scef (uncommon)

Etymology

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

  • IPA(key): */ˈʃɛf/
  • Rhymes: -ɛf

Noun

chef m (invariable)

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

Related terms

  • sous-chef

References

Further reading

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

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old French chief, from Latin caput.

Alternative forms

  • cheef, cheefe, chefe, chief, chif, chife, chyeef, chyff

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /t͡ʃeːf/

Noun

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.
Related terms
Descendants
  • English: chief (see there for further descendants)
  • Scots: chief
References
  • “chẹ̄f, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-09-12.

Adjective

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.
Descendants
  • English: chief
  • Scots: chief
References
  • “chẹ̄f, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-09-12.

Adverb

chef

  1. (rare) Principally, (the) most.
References
  • “chẹ̄fe, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-09-12.

Etymology 2

Noun

chef

  1. Alternative form of chaf

Norman

Etymology

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

Noun

chef m (plural chefs)

  1. (Jersey) chief

Derived terms

  • chef dé deu (“chief mourner”)
  • chef dé musique (“conductor”)

Old French

Noun

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

  1. Alternative form of chief

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French chef.

Pronunciation

Noun

chef m or f by sense (plural chefs)

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

Romanian

Etymology

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

Noun

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

See also

  • (disposition) dispoziție
  • (wish): dorință
  • (appetite): poftă
  • (caprice): capriciu, dambla
  • (shindig): petrecere, zaiafet
  • (drunkenness): beție

Spanish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Noun

chef m or f by sense (plural chefs)

  1. chef, head cook

Usage notes

  • 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.

Related terms

Further reading

  • “chef”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Swedish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French chef.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɧeːf/, /ɧɛːf/

Noun

chef c

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

Usage notes

False friend with chef, see kock.

Declension

Derived terms

  • avdelningschef
  • butikschef
  • försäljningschef
  • mellanchef

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This article based on an article on Wiktionary. The list of authors can be seen in the page history there. The original work has been modified. This article is distributed under the terms of this license.