Where did the term beefeaters come from for the British guards?
The name Beefeaters is often thought to come from the French word – ‘buffetier’. (Buffetiers were guards in the palace of French kings. They protected the king’s food.) However, the name Beefeater is more likely to have originated from the time when the Yeomen Warders at the Tower were paid part of their salary with chunks of beef. This took place right up until the 1800s.
