beef
Meaning
The meat from a cow, bull, or ox
The flesh of an animal used as food
To complain or grumble
To add strength, substance, or weight to something
Usage
We're having roast beef for Sunday dinner.
He's always beefing about the amount of work he has to do.
The company plans to beef up its security measures.
Etymology
The word "beef" entered English in the Middle English period from the Anglo-Norman "boef" and Old French "buef," meaning an ox or a cow. These terms ultimately derive from the Latin "bos, bovis," meaning ox or cow, a root which also gives us "bovine." The specific use of "beef" for the meat, while "cow" or "ox" remained for the living animal, is a classic example of the linguistic distinction introduced after the Norman Conquest, where the ruling class's French term for the meat supplanted the Old English word ("cu," for the animal, survives as "cow"). Over time, the semantic field of "beef" expanded metaphorically, leading to its verb forms meaning to complain or to strengthen.
Analysis
The word is a simplex loanword from Anglo-Norman and Old French. Its spelling and form do not allow for segmentation into productive morphemes within modern English.