# Special Names for Animal Meat **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 25, 2013, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-names-for-animal-meat/674758 "2013-11-25T16:04:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-names-for-animal-meat/674758/21 "2013-11-26T10:14:05Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Well, I’m hungry. I agree, I have a slab of pork belly that is currently going to be turned into char siu marinating in the fridge. I just really really want that flavor profile and the particular mouthfeel of the slow cooked fat and meat … once cooked a 2 kilo slab will last me a fair amount of time [I portion it out and vacuseal it and keep it in the freezer.] Actually what I could really go for right now is tuscan lardo on a fresh hot out of the oven sourdough roll … _sob_ \ I wonder if I can get my butcher to find me a trustworthy pig … ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-names-for-animal-meat/674758/22 "2013-11-26T11:00:42Z")
One of the guys at work came up with something recently. His father told him that he and his mates used to buy a pile of char sui pork from the local Chinese place and a bag of white bread rolls and have them for lunch. We tried it once and do it regularly. One guy goes to the Chinese BBQ place and gets the BBQ pork and someone else goes to the Japanese bakery for the bread rolls. You rip off a piece of bread roll, stuff it with pork (and a slice of scallion if we get them), dip it in the sauce they provide and devour it. Awesome. Even better than steamed BBQ pork buns. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-names-for-animal-meat/674758/23 "2013-11-26T12:39:11Z")
There is more variety among bird meat (fowl?) than there are other categories such as beef and pork. You have chicken, turkey, quail, pheasant and so on; each has a distinct flavor and/or texture so it wouldn’t make sense to lump them together. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-names-for-animal-meat/674758/24 "2013-11-26T14:07:25Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > There is more variety among bird meat (fowl?) than there are other categories such as beef and pork. You have chicken, turkey, quail, pheasant and so on; each has a distinct flavor and/or texture so it wouldn’t make sense to lump them together. Together they are all referred to as poultry (both animals and meat). ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-names-for-animal-meat/674758/25 "2013-11-26T14:16:29Z")
This is purely anecdotal, but I recall my great-grandfathers referring to calves as “veals.” But they also often referred to cows as “beeves” so who knows what was up with their crazy dialect. (rural Central NY. They both died in the early 70s) ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-names-for-animal-meat/674758/26 "2013-11-26T18:12:05Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Just to add my $0.02 without actually providing an answer, I was in Italy and referred to a farm animal as “pollo”, which means “chicken.” Somebody laughed and said that’s only what they called it when it was on your plate. So Italian has a word for the meat though English doesn’t. And they generally refer to pork as “pig meat.” I don’t speak German but I remember “schweinfleisch” on a menu in an American restaurant serving German cuisine, which means “pig meat” IIRC. Although the extent of this phenomenon in English obviously is a result of the Norman conquest, this Italian example, the Spanish ones in Colibri’s staff report, and my experience with (some) Scandinavian languages show that using different names for the meat and the animal isn’t unusual (at least in Germanic and Romance languages). Interestingly enough it seems to me (although this may be bias) that it’s more pronounced in Norwegian, with an ever so slight parallel to the history of English with Danish being the language of the elite here for about 400 years. ---
**Author:** ![Falchion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Falchion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Falchion)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-names-for-animal-meat/674758/27 "2013-11-26T18:55:04Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Just to add my $0.02 without actually providing an answer, I was in Italy and referred to a farm animal as “pollo”, which means “chicken.” Somebody laughed and said that’s only what they called it when it was on your plate. I think that’s also true in Spanish for fish. But I can’t remember what either word is at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-names-for-animal-meat/674758/28 "2013-11-26T21:14:41Z")
> [@Falchion](#): > > I think that’s also true in Spanish for fish. But I can’t remember what either word is at the moment. Pez/Pescado. But I can’t remember now which is meat and which is the animal. I _think_ “pescado” means cooked fish, and “pez” is the live animal. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-names-for-animal-meat/674758/29 "2013-11-26T21:31:31Z")
> [@naita](#): > > Although the extent of this phenomenon in English obviously is a result of the Norman conquest, this Italian example, the Spanish ones in Colibri’s staff report, and my experience with (some) Scandinavian languages show that using different names for the meat and the animal isn’t unusual (at least in Germanic and Romance languages). Interestingly enough it seems to me (although this may be bias) that it’s more pronounced in Norwegian, with an ever so slight parallel to the history of English with Danish being the language of the elite here for about 400 years. How different were the Norwegian and Danish names in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-names-for-animal-meat/674758/30 "2013-11-26T22:04:24Z")
I have a photo at home of the menu board for an Italian McDonalds. The pork something-or-other sandwich is called “suino” I thnk. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2013, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-names-for-animal-meat/674758/31 "2013-11-27T04:45:08Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Pez/Pescado. But I can’t remember now which is meat and which is the animal. I _think_ “pescado” means cooked fish, and “pez” is the live animal. _Pez_ is a live fish. A fish on your plate is _pescado_, literally “fished” (the past participle of _pescar_, “to fish.”) ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2013, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-names-for-animal-meat/674758/32 "2013-11-27T08:43:25Z")
> [@naita](#): > > … and my experience with (some) Scandinavian languages show that using different names for the meat and the animal isn’t unusual … I can’t think of anything. Do you have any examples? ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2013, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-names-for-animal-meat/674758/33 "2013-11-27T08:49:15Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > I can’t think of anything. Do you have any examples? Forget it. I just came up with a couple. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2013, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-names-for-animal-meat/674758/34 "2013-11-27T08:58:31Z")
> [@bump](#): > > In a weird preliminary to that situation, the same situation was already present in France, with \*boeuf \*meaning the meat, and \*vache \*meaning the animal. Yeah, that’s what I came here to say : the origin of the English dichotomy is cultural French invasion following the \*actual \*French invasion ; yet for some reason we do it too in some cases. But not all, that would be too easy. Veal is veal whether it’s got 4 legs or a side of fries, but pork meat is “porc” while the animal is more often than not referred to as “cochon”. Beef is “boeuf” whether the bull was actually castrated at any point, or was a cow. Chicken is “poulet”, but if it still clucks it’s a “poule” or a “coq” - unless the cock doesn’t have one any more in which case both the animal and the dish become “chapon”. Further cementing the shibboleth nature of the French language, you ask me. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2013, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-names-for-animal-meat/674758/35 "2013-11-27T15:39:43Z")
About the Scott poem/cow-beef thing, as well as the calf-_meat_/rabbit-_meat_ thing, one anomaly that persists is “ox-tail.” Also, “sucking pig.” Just throwing it out there. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2013, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-names-for-animal-meat/674758/36 "2013-11-27T16:41:00Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > Forget it. I just came up with a couple. What are they? ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2013, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-names-for-animal-meat/674758/37 "2013-11-27T17:07:01Z")
I believe in Tagalog all meats are called just by the animal name, with no “meat” suffix. Manok is a chicken, and chicken on a plate etc. I wonder worldwide which system is more common linguistically? ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2013, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-names-for-animal-meat/674758/38 "2013-11-27T18:58:32Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > How different were the Norwegian and Danish names in the first place? Pigs, in both Norwegian and Danish, are either “gris” or “svin” with the former being more common in Norwegian for the live animal, while (as seen from Norway) Danes often use the latter. As food the animal is exclusively “svin”, unless one is using “gris” for comic effect. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2013, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-names-for-animal-meat/674758/39 "2013-11-28T08:57:51Z")
Pigs in Swedish are as in Danish and Norwegian “gris” or “svin”, but their meat is called “fläsk”. Cows’ meat is “biff”. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2013, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-names-for-animal-meat/674758/40 "2013-11-28T19:29:00Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Also, “sucking pig.” Just throwing it out there. It’s suckLing. As in a pig that’s so young, it hasn’t been weaned yet. A piglet. Pig veal, if you will. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-names-for-animal-meat/674758.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-names-for-animal-meat/674758.md?page=3)