Words for Meat

[foxgrrl]

In English, the cooked meat of each animal has a different word for it. For example:
Cow → Beef
Pig → Pork
Sheep → Mutton
This is because of the collision of the Saxon and Norman languages about a thousand years ago. Every animal has a specialized word for it's meat, including Dolphin. Apparently during the Tudor period, each animal also had specialized carving instruments for cutting them up, and each tool had it's own specialized name (including Dolphin).

Dear Lazyweb:

Can you provide me with a list of all of the specialized names for the cooked meat of each animal?

Comments

[jarandhel.livejournal.com]

http://everything2.com/title/Anglo-Saxon%2520words%2520for%2520animals%252C%2520French%2520words%2520for%2520meat

http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1193436

In the latter, be sure to check out the final spreadsheet of names: http://forum.wordreference.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=5992&d=1231605745

This is the most comprehensive listing of animal names vs meat names that I'm able to find. It doesn't include anything as exotic as dolphin meat, however, nor can I presently find the specialized name for dolphin meat at all.

[nodesignation.livejournal.com]

I'll also add another detail to the history of that language collision. My understanding is that it had to do with conquest, the invaders were speaking what eventually became french and the local populations were speaking what eventually became German. So the people raising the animals had one set of words and the people eating had another set of words.

[emiofbrie.livejournal.com]

I think "Poultry" refers to all birds, not just Chicken. Just like "Seafood" refers to all meat-animals that resides in the sea (of which "Shellfish" is a subset)

Otherwise, chicken is just chicken, duck is just duck, fish is just fish, etc.

And...Buffalo is just buffalo. :)

[merovingian.livejournal.com]

What I learned in college linguistics classes was this: the names of the animals were Germanic because the Saxons raised the animals, but the names of the meats were French/Romance because the Normans ate the animals.

(I don't know any specialized animal food names, though, besides the obvious beef, pork, mutton, poultry, venison)

[proudlyfallen.livejournal.com]

No, but interesting tidbit... A google search for "specialized names for meat" has this entry as the very first hit.

[anaisdjuna.livejournal.com]

If someone had asked me what do you think Julia's next entry is going to be about..... I think I would have been talking for some weeks and days before I got to this one.

:-)

[kitten-goddess.livejournal.com]

Deer = venison (Yummy!)

[kalagni.livejournal.com]

This is exactly the type of random question that ljgenie lives for.

[thewerewolf.livejournal.com]

Just a bit more info - The Normans invaded England and conquered the Saxons who became their servants.

As a result the word for an animal as food (as served to the Normans) is French and as livestock (as being tended by the Saxon servants) is Old English.

Cow (cú) → Beef (boeuf)
Pig (pecg) → Pork (porc)
Sheep (scaef) → Mutton (mouton)

On the other hand, some seem to be wholly Old English
Lamb (lamb) → ? (agneau or petit mouton)
Chicken (cicen) → ? (poulet)

[thewerewolf.livejournal.com]

But it comes from "poulet" which is French for chicken. :)

[aazhie.livejournal.com]

This journal is awesome!