rosbif

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French rosbif, from English roast beef. Doublet of roast beef.

Pronunciation

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Noun

rosbif (plural rosbifs)

1. (humorous) An English person (as viewed by the French).
   • 1938, Neil Harmon Swanson, The forbidden ground, page 85:

     Polidor Graindart, sometime sergeant of the intendant's guard in the days when three golden lilies bloomed on the flagstaff above the De Troit blockhouse, never had forgiven the rosbifs for the conquest of New France.

   • 2009, Andy Roberts, Flying the Flag, page 233:

     France demonstrate the entente cordiale towards the rosbifs.

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from French rosbif, from English roast beef.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˌrɔzˈbif]

Noun

rosbif m (plural rosbifs)

1. roast beef

Further reading

• “rosbif”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English roast beef, stereotypical food of the English.

Compare English frog (“French person”), from frog legs, corresponding term for French, likewise based on food; and Kraut for Germans.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʁɔs.bif/

• Audio (France (Saint-Maurice-de-Beynost)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Toulouse)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

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• Audio (France (Somain)):

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Noun

rosbif m (plural rosbifs)

1. roast beef
2. (derogatory, ethnic slur) an English person

   Synonym: angliche

Descendants

• → Catalan: rosbif
• → English: rosbif
• → Portuguese: rosbife
• → Russian: ро́стбиф (róstbif)
• → Turkish: rozbif

Further reading

• “rosbif”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English roast beef.

Noun

rosbif m (invariable)

1. roast beef

Anagrams

• sfibro, sfibrò

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French rosbif, from English roast beef.

Noun

rosbif n (plural rosbifuri)

1. roast beef

Declension

Declension of rosbif

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	rosbif	rosbiful		rosbifuri	rosbifurile
genitive-dative	rosbif	rosbifului		rosbifuri	rosbifurilor
vocative	rosbifule			rosbifurilor

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from English roast beef.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /rosˈbif/ [rozˈβ̞if]
• Rhymes: -if
• Syllabification: ros‧bif

Noun

rosbif m (plural rosbifs)

1. roast beef

Further reading

• “rosbif”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024