Etymology of the French word chef
the Old French word
chefderived from the Old French word
chiefderived from the Latin word
caput (head; small head; head; head; head; head; person; life; heading; chapter, principal division)
derived from the Proto-Indo-European root
*kaput- (head)
Date
The earliest known usage of chef in French dates from the 10th century.
Derivations in French
chefferie,
chevir,
cheffesse,
couvre-chef,
permis-chef,
sous-chef,
derechef,
cheverDerivations in other languages
English
chief, Portuguese
chefe, Romanian
şef, Spanish
jefe, Spanish
chefCognates
Dutch
chef, Dutch
kaap, English
chief, French
cap, German
Chef, German
Kap, Italian
capo, Norwegian
sjef, Provençal
cap, Spanish
cabo, Spanish
xefe, Swedish
chef, Swedish
kapUsage
Word found in Old French
