Staff (?), n.; pl.
Staves (&?; or &?;; 277) or Staffs
(#) in senses 1-9, Staffs in senses 10, 11. [AS.
stæf a staff; akin to LG. & D. staf, OFries
stef, G. stab, Icel. stafr, Sw. staf, Dan.
stav, Goth. stabs element, rudiment, Skr.
sthāpay to cause to stand, to place. See Stand,
and cf. Stab, Stave, n.]
1. A long piece of wood; a stick; the long handle
of an instrument or weapon; a pole or srick, used for many purposes;
as, a surveyor's staff; the staff of a spear or
pike.
And he put the staves into the rings on the
sides of the altar to bear it withal.
Ex. xxxviii.
7.
With forks and staves the felon to
pursue.
Dryden.
2. A stick carried in the hand for support or
defense by a person walking; hence, a support; that which props or
upholds. "Hooked staves." Piers Plowman.
The boy was the very staff of my
age.
Shak.
He spoke of it [beer] in "The Earnest Cry," and
likewise in the "Scotch Drink," as one of the staffs of life
which had been struck from the poor man's hand.
Prof.
Wilson.
3. A pole, stick, or wand borne as an ensign
of authority; a badge of office; as, a constable's
staff.
Methought this staff, mine office badge in
court,
Was broke in twain.
Shak.
All his officers brake their staves; but at
their return new staves were delivered unto them.
Hayward.
4. A pole upon which a flag is supported and
displayed.
5. The round of a ladder. [R.]
I ascend at one [ladder] of six hundred and thirty-nine
staves.
Dr. J. Campbell (E. Brown's
Travels).
6. A series of verses so disposed that, when
it is concluded, the same order begins again; a stanza; a
stave.
Cowley found out that no kind of staff is proper
for an heroic poem, as being all too lyrical.
Dryden.
7. (Mus.) The five lines and the spaces
on which music is written; -- formerly called stave.
8. (Mech.) An arbor, as of a wheel or a
pinion of a watch.
9. (Surg.) The grooved director for the
gorget, or knife, used in cutting for stone in the bladder.
10. [From Staff, 3, a badge of office.]
(Mil.) An establishment of officers in various departments
attached to an army, to a section of an army, or to the commander of
an army. The general's staff consists of those officers about his
person who are employed in carrying his commands into execution. See
État Major.
11. Hence: A body of assistants serving to
carry into effect the plans of a superintendant or manager; as, the
staff of a newspaper.
Jacob's staff (Surv.), a single
straight rod or staff, pointed and iron-shod at the bottom, for
penetrating the ground, and having a socket joint at the top, used,
instead of a tripod, for supporting a compass. -- Staff
angle (Arch.), a square rod of wood standing
flush with the wall on each of its sides, at the external angles of
plastering, to prevent their being damaged. -- The staff
of life, bread. "Bread is the staff of
life." Swift. -- Staff tree
(Bot.), any plant of the genus Celastrus, mostly
climbing shrubs of the northern hemisphere. The American species
(C. scandens) is commonly called bittersweet. See 2d
Bittersweet, 3 (b). -- To
set, or To put, up, or
down, one's staff, to take up one's
residence; to lodge. [Obs.]
Staff (?), n. [G. staffiren to
fill or fit out, adorn, fr. D. stoffeeren, OF. estoffer,
F. étoffer, fr. OF. estoffe stuff, F.
étoffe. See Stuff, n.]
(Arch.) Plaster combined with fibrous and other materials
so as to be suitable for sculpture in relief or in the round, or for
forming flat plates or boards of considerable size which can be nailed
to framework to make the exterior of a larger structure, forming
joints which may afterward be repaired and concealed with fresh
plaster.
Staff (?), n.; pl.
Staves (&?; or &?;; 277) or Staffs
(#) in senses 1-9, Staffs in senses 10, 11. [AS.
stæf a staff; akin to LG. & D. staf, OFries
stef, G. stab, Icel. stafr, Sw. staf, Dan.
stav, Goth. stabs element, rudiment, Skr.
sthāpay to cause to stand, to place. See Stand,
and cf. Stab, Stave, n.]
1. A long piece of wood; a stick; the long handle
of an instrument or weapon; a pole or srick, used for many purposes;
as, a surveyor's staff; the staff of a spear or
pike.
And he put the staves into the rings on the
sides of the altar to bear it withal.
Ex. xxxviii.
7.
With forks and staves the felon to
pursue.
Dryden.
2. A stick carried in the hand for support or
defense by a person walking; hence, a support; that which props or
upholds. "Hooked staves." Piers Plowman.
The boy was the very staff of my
age.
Shak.
He spoke of it [beer] in "The Earnest Cry," and
likewise in the "Scotch Drink," as one of the staffs of life
which had been struck from the poor man's hand.
Prof.
Wilson.
3. A pole, stick, or wand borne as an ensign
of authority; a badge of office; as, a constable's
staff.
Methought this staff, mine office badge in
court,
Was broke in twain.
Shak.
All his officers brake their staves; but at
their return new staves were delivered unto them.
Hayward.
4. A pole upon which a flag is supported and
displayed.
5. The round of a ladder. [R.]
I ascend at one [ladder] of six hundred and thirty-nine
staves.
Dr. J. Campbell (E. Brown's
Travels).
6. A series of verses so disposed that, when
it is concluded, the same order begins again; a stanza; a
stave.
Cowley found out that no kind of staff is proper
for an heroic poem, as being all too lyrical.
Dryden.
7. (Mus.) The five lines and the spaces
on which music is written; -- formerly called stave.
8. (Mech.) An arbor, as of a wheel or a
pinion of a watch.
9. (Surg.) The grooved director for the
gorget, or knife, used in cutting for stone in the bladder.
10. [From Staff, 3, a badge of office.]
(Mil.) An establishment of officers in various departments
attached to an army, to a section of an army, or to the commander of
an army. The general's staff consists of those officers about his
person who are employed in carrying his commands into execution. See
État Major.
11. Hence: A body of assistants serving to
carry into effect the plans of a superintendant or manager; as, the
staff of a newspaper.
Jacob's staff (Surv.), a single
straight rod or staff, pointed and iron-shod at the bottom, for
penetrating the ground, and having a socket joint at the top, used,
instead of a tripod, for supporting a compass. -- Staff
angle (Arch.), a square rod of wood standing
flush with the wall on each of its sides, at the external angles of
plastering, to prevent their being damaged. -- The staff
of life, bread. "Bread is the staff of
life." Swift. -- Staff tree
(Bot.), any plant of the genus Celastrus, mostly
climbing shrubs of the northern hemisphere. The American species
(C. scandens) is commonly called bittersweet. See 2d
Bittersweet, 3 (b). -- To
set, or To put, up, or
down, one's staff, to take up one's
residence; to lodge. [Obs.]
Staff (?), n. [G. staffiren to
fill or fit out, adorn, fr. D. stoffeeren, OF. estoffer,
F. étoffer, fr. OF. estoffe stuff, F.
étoffe. See Stuff, n.]
(Arch.) Plaster combined with fibrous and other materials
so as to be suitable for sculpture in relief or in the round, or for
forming flat plates or boards of considerable size which can be nailed
to framework to make the exterior of a larger structure, forming
joints which may afterward be repaired and concealed with fresh
plaster.
