chef en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /t͡ʃɛf/ spelling pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
- /ʃɛf/
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”)). Doublet of cape, capo, caput, and chief through Latin, and head and Howth through Proto-Indo-European.
Meanings
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The presiding cook in the kitchen of a large household.
The Chef's peace of mind was restor'd, And in due time a banquet was placed on the board.
a. 1845, R. H. Barham, Blasphemer's Warning in Ingoldsby Legends (1847), 3rd Ser., 245
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The head cook of a restaurant or other establishment.
The cause of the disturbance, it appeared, was the angry little chef of Sir Francis Clavering's culinary establishment.
1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, “Which Is Both Quarrelsome and Sentimental”, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume I, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849, →OCLC, page 266:
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Any cook.
The videos are easy to follow — and short. His style is consistent and effective; his recipes have built a microcosm of predominantly young, first-time chefs with a penchant for TikTok-able entertainment. “I’m just a regular guy, and not a chef at all,” Nguyen said.
2020 May 7, Genesia Ting, “How Newton Nguyen is inspiring a young generation of home chefs”, in Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 08 May 2020:My partner is the chef of the household, while I do most of the cleaning.
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(slang) One who manufactures illegal drugs; a cook.
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.
2013, Mike Power, Drugs 2.0:But trying to stop all the nation's meth chefs makes as much sense as building a wall along the Mexican border.
1998, SPIN, volume 14, number 3, page 100:
- (historical) A reliquary in the shape of a head.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| chefs | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
subchef · chef salad · pastry chef · chefly · underchef · superchef · chef watcher · chefling · chefmanship · chefless · chefnap · station chef · cheffy · chefwear · nonchef · robochef · autochef · chef's kiss · Chef Mike · head chef · short-order chef · cheffery · chefess · chefware · cheftender · uberchef · cheflike · chefdom
Descendants
Hypernyms
cook (cook)
Relateds
chef-d'œuvre · chef de rang · chef de cuisine · chef d'oeuvre · chef d'œuvre · chef de mission
Synonyms
magirologist (cook, particularly a learned or skilful one) · magirist (cook, particularly a learned or skilful one)
Translations (104)
pl szef kuchni (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · nan-hbl 廚子 /厨子 (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · sh главни кувар (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · nn kjøkkensjef (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · nan-hbl 刀子 (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · cs šéfkuchař (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · th เชฟ (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · gl xefe de cociña (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · fa سرآشپز (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · ar طَاهٍ (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · it capocuoco (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · is kokkur (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · cy cogydd (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · sl glavna kuharica (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · be шэф-куха́р (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · ca xef (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · sh glavni kuhar (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · is yfirmatsveinn (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · cy sièff (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · it chef (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · ar طَاهِي (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · fr chef (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · nan-hbl 廚子師 /厨子师 (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · lv šefpavārs (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · ko 료리사 (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · is matreiðslumaður (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · nv chʼiyáán ííłʼíní (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · vo jikvisinal (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · ur باورچی (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · gv ard-choagyrey (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · ka შეფი (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · vo kvisinal (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · yue 大廚 /大厨 (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · bn বাবুর্চি (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · de Chefkoch (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · mt xeff (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · sw mpishi mkuu (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · af sjef (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · cmn 廚師 /厨师 (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · ja 料理人 (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · ja 調理師 (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · nan-hbl 廚師 /厨师 (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · is matsveinn (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · ru ста́рший ко́к (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · pl kuchmistrz (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · sl glavni kuhar (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · el αρχιμάγειρος (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · fi keittiömestari (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · pl kuchmistrzyni (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · ce юургйийриг (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · de Küchenchefin (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · nan-hbl 總舖 /总铺 (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · ar طَاهِيَة (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · nan-hbl 總舖師 /总铺师 (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · hu séf (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · io koqueyestro (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · az baş aşpaz (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · ru по́вар (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · ur آش پز (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · fr chef cuisinier (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · vi bếp trưởng (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · mk шеф на кујна (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · de Küchenchef (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · pt chef (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · th หัวหน้าพ่อครัว (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · ko 주방장 (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · ka მზარეული (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · ru шеф-по́вар (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · nl chef-kok (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · nb kjøkkensjef (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · ja シェフ (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · es chef (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · acw شيف (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · sv kock (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · lt šefas (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · he שֶׁף (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · ko 셰프 (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · yue 廚師 /厨师 (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · et peakokk (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · hy շեֆ-խոհարար (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · de Chefköchin (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · ug ئاشپەز (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · lt vyriausias virėjas (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · hi बावरची (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · sq gjellëtar (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · ur طباخ (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · nn kjøkensjef (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · ro bucătar-șef (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · ka შეფ-მზარეული (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · ko 요리사 (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · pl szefowa kuchni (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · cy pen-cogydd (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · sk šéfkuchár (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · eo ĉefkuiristo (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · bg гла́вен готва́ч (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · km ចុងភៅធំ (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · fi kokki (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · ja コック (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · uk шеф-куха́р (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · ar شِيف (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · acw طَبَّاخ (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · sv köksmästare (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · vo hikvisinal (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant) · tr şef (head cook of an establishment such as a restaurant)