Definition of "Beef"

[utsavviradiya]

Hey, folks! Can you all help me out by sharing what "Beef" means and which animal's meat is called beef? Also, give similar words/synonyms of "beef". Just curious to know!

 

[SoothingDave]

What did you find when looking it up in a dictionary? What part of the definition is giving you trouble?

This looks like trolling. If you're sincerely confused, you need to do more research and ask a specific question.

 

[Tarheel]

In what context have you seen the word "beef"?

 

[jutfrank]

I guess Hindus don't eat a lot of beef!

 

[probus]

Indeed, the slaughter of beef cattle is illegal in the state of Gujarat.

 

[utsavviradiya]

What did you find when looking it up in a dictionary? What part of the definition is giving you trouble?

This looks like trolling. If you're sincerely confused, you need to do more research and ask a specific question.

Well, In India, there is a controversy going on right now regarding Korean restaurants selling beef. Can a buffalo's meat be referred to as beef? Some say yes and others say no in India. That's why I am confused.

 

[utsavviradiya]

Indeed, the slaughter of beef cattle is illegal in the state of Gujarat.

Yup, in my state, Gujarat, the slaughter of beef cattle as well as the consumption of beef is illegal. It's likely that almost all Gujarati Hindus you encounter in England have never consumed meat in their entire lives, though this trend is gradually evolving.

 

[utsavviradiya]

I guess Hindus don't eat a lot of beef!

Yeah, Devout Hindus don't eat meat in general, not to mention beef.

 

[Piscean]

Buffalo are bovine animals, but what buffalo meat is called depends on legal, political, and religious arguments.

 

[Tarheel]

Well, In India, there is a controversy going on right now regarding Korean restaurants selling beef. Can a buffalo's meat be referred to as beef? Some say yes and others say no in India. That's why I am confused.

Two things. One, your question indicates that you don't know what "beef" means. Two, they can call it whatever they want to call it, so, yes. (I would probably use a different word.)

 

[utsavviradiya]

your question indicates that you don't know what "beef" means.

I don't think you know why I am on this platform and why I asked the question in the first place.

 

[emsr2d2]

I don't think you know why I am on this platform and why I asked the question in the first place.

If you had made it clear exactly what you were asking and why in post #1, this thread would have been a lot shorter. Context is vital.

 

[White Hat]

Hey, folks! Can you all help me out by sharing what "Beef" means and which animal's meat is called beef? Also, give similar words/synonyms of "beef". Just curious to know!

Also try this.

 

[probus]

Having lived in India and being married to an Indian, I can attest that the (water) buffalo is not considered beef there. Those Hindus who choose to eat meat may eat buffalo.

 

[SoothingDave]

Well, In India, there is a controversy going on right now regarding Korean restaurants selling beef. Can a buffalo's meat be referred to as beef? Some say yes and others say no in India. That's why I am confused.

You should have led with this. This isn't an English language question as much as a religious or legal one.

We have bison here, commonly referred to as "buffalo." Their meat is not sold as beef, which is understood to come from cattle, not buffalo.
However, a culture can choose to define things however they want.

 

[Tarheel]

I don't think you know why I am on this platform and why I asked the question in the first place.

You've got that right! I am not a mind-reader. I have to respond to what I see.

 

[jutfrank]

Can a buffalo's meat be referred to as beef? Some say yes and others say no in India. That's why I am confused.

You're not the only one who's confused. It is referred to by many as 'beef', yes, since it comes from a bovine animal. That's not something that's open to discussion.

In Hinduism it's cows that are forbidden to kill, not that 'beef' is forbidden to eat. The semantics/pragmatics of the English word 'beef' has nothing to do with anything related to Hindu practice. In Hinduism, it's not that you can't eat 'beef', it's that you can't eat cows. That's not the same thing!

The religious discussion should be whether buffalo are okay to kill and eat or not (and why or why not), and not the particular semantics of the English word 'beef'.

 

[probus]

As an interesting linguistic aside, the words cow, pig and sheep are Anglo-Saxon in origin, while beef, pork and mutton are from the French. This has led some to speculate that after 1066 the Saxons were caring for the animals while the Normans were eating their flesh.