Chef
/ʃɛf/noun
A professional cook, especially the head cook in a restaurant or kitchen.
Did you know?Chef comes from French, where it originally meant a chief or head person, from the same Latin root that gave English chief, so the kitchen “chef” is literally a boss by etymology.
Etymological Timeline
Late Latin
Latin
caput
“head”
Medieval Latin
Latin
capitāle
“head, principal thing”
Old French
Old French
chief
“head; leader; principal person”
14th–16th Century
French
chef
“head; leader; chief”
19th Century
English
chef
“head cook; professional cook”
Modern English
English
chef
“a professional cook, especially the head cook in a kitchen”