Definition of Disteff
Dis"taff (?), n.; pl.
Distaffs (#), rarely
Distaves (#). [OE. distaf, dysestafe,
AS. distaef; cf. LG. diesse the bunch of flax on a
distaff, and E. dizen. See Staff.] 1.
The staff for holding a bunch of flax, tow, or wool, from which
the thread is drawn in spinning by hand.
I will the distaff hold; come thou and
spin. Fairfax.
2. Used as a symbol of the holder of a
distaff; hence, a woman; women, collectively.
His crown usurped, a distaff on the
throne. Dryden.
Some say the crozier, some say the distaff was
too busy. Howell.
&fist; The plural is regular, but Distaves occurs in
Beaumont & Fletcher.
Descent by distaff, descent on the mother's
side. -- Distaff Day, or Distaff's
Day, the morrow of the Epiphany, that is, January 7,
because working at the distaff was then resumed, after the Christmas
festival; -- called also Rock Day, a distaff being called a
rock. Shipley.
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
- the part of a spinning wheel from which thread is drawn to be spun
- anything traditionally considered of importance to women only
- women considered as a group
- of, relating to, or characteristic of women
- The Nuttall Encyclopedia
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