Q 01/05

The English word 'beef' ultimately comes from which Latin word?

A) carnis

B) vacca

C) taurus

D) bōs

Answer · why

D) bōs

It arrived via Old French, which is why the animal is Germanic 'cow' but the meat is Latinate 'beef'.

Q 02/05

What is the rarely used plural of the word 'beef'?

A) Beefen

B) Beeves

C) Beefs

D) Bevies

Answer · why

B) Beeves

It survives mostly in old cattle-trade writing and as a favourite of crossword setters.

Q 03/05

Which extinct wild ox, hunted by Neanderthals, is the ancestor of modern domestic cattle?

A) The aurochs

B) The bison

C) The gaur

D) The yak

Answer · why

A) The aurochs

The last known one died in Poland around 1627, long after cattle had spread worldwide.

Q 04/05

Roughly how many years ago did the first domestication of cattle (Bos taurus) take place?

A) 3,000

B) 6,000

C) 10,500

D) 8,000

Answer · why

C) 10,500

A second, separate domestication about 7,000 years ago produced the humped zebu, Bos indicus.

Q 05/05

Which country was the world's largest beef producer in 2018, at about 12.2 million tons?

A) Argentina

B) Australia

C) United States

D) Uruguay

Answer · why

C) United States

Brazil was second at 9.9 million tons and China third at 6.46 million.