beefeater

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a person who eats beef, especially one characterized as eating a great deal of it

   The essay contrasts an abstemious vegetarian with a lifelong beefeater.

2. 2
   noun

   informal, often capitalized: a Yeoman Warder at the Tower of London, or historically a member of the royal yeoman guard

   A Beefeater led the visitors through the Tower's inner ward.

3. 3
   noun

   historical: an oxpecker, an African bird that feeds on ticks and other parasites found on large mammals

   An old field guide labels the red-billed oxpecker a beefeater.

A compound of beef + eater, first transparent for a person who eats beef. Beefeater later became the familiar nickname of royal yeomen and especially the Tower of London's Yeoman Warders, though the nickname's precise origin is disputed. Older naturalists also applied the compound to oxpeckers.

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