beefeater

2 definitions found

beefeater - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Beefeater \Beef"eat`er\ (b[=e]f"[=e]t`[~e]r), n. [Beef + eater;
     prob. one who eats another's beef, as his servant. Cf. AS.
     hl[=a]f[=ae]ta servant, properly a loaf eater.]
     1. One who eats beef; hence, a large, fleshy person.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. One of the yeomen of the guard, in England.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Zool.) An African bird of the genus Buphaga, which
        feeds on the larv[ae] of botflies hatched under the skin
        of oxen, antelopes, etc. Two species are known.
        [1913 Webster]

beefeater - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  beefeater
      n 1: officer in the (ceremonial) bodyguard of the British
           monarch [syn: yeoman, yeoman of the guard, beefeater]