Coquus

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A term referring to a person who prepares food by cooking; an individual skilled in culinary arts; one who works professionally in a kitchen preparing meals
2. An ancient or classical designation for a cook; someone who manages food preparation; an expert in creating dishes and meals
3. Referring to a culinary professional responsible for cooking; a person devoted to food preparation; one engaged in the art of transforming raw ingredients into cooked dishes

Etymology: "Coquus" is the Latin word for a cook, the man who worked in a Roman kitchen, and it is the direct ancestor of English "cook." The Latin noun comes from the verb "coquere," meaning "to cook" or "to boil," which is itself rooted in an Indo-European base for heating or ripening. Roman writers used "coquus" for both household servants and professional chefs, and in wealthy homes the cook could be a respected figure, sometimes a slave or freedman with real expertise. The word did not stay in Latin. Its Vulgar Latin descendant "*cocus" passed into Old English as "cōc," which is attested by the late Old English period and gave us "cook" in its modern form. The verb "to cook" followed later, formed from the noun, and English has used the verb far more than the noun ever since. Many other European languages preserve the same root, such as French "cuisine" and Italian "cuoco," showing how widely the Latin word spread through the medieval kitchens of the continent.

Synonyms: cook, chef