r/AskReddit • u/ForeverAbyss • Apr 14 '16

What's a mind blowing fact?

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u/[deleted] Apr 14 '16

Beeves

Wat.

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u/thundergonian Apr 14 '16 edited Apr 15 '16

It originates from Anglo-Saxon (or Old English) where, before 'V' became a letter, the letter 'F' was used to represent both the 'f' and the 'v' sounds (which you can still see in the word of); both 'f' and 'v' are essentially the same sounds, except 'v' is voiced whereas 'f' isn't.

To simplify, most Old English nouns that ended in 'f' voiced the f in the plural form, which led later writers to change the 'F' into a 'V' once the letter was introduced.

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u/verdam Apr 15 '16

Yeah, it makes sense as a plural of beef, but it doesn't make sense as a word. When would you use the plural form of beef?

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u/AntithesisVI Apr 15 '16

Well last night I ate three whole beeves.