Staff \Staff\ (st[.a]f), n.; pl. Staves (st[=a]vz or
st[aum]vz; 277) or Staffs (st[.a]fs) in senses 1-9,
Staffs in senses 10, 11. [AS. staef a staff; akin to LG. &
D. staf, OFries. stef, G. stab, Icel. stafr, Sw. staf, Dan.
stav, Goth. stabs element, rudiment, Skr. sth[=a]pay 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 stick, used for many
purposes; as, a surveyor's staff; the staff of a spear or
pike.
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And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of
the altar to bear it withal. --Ex. xxxviii.
7.
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With forks and staves the felon to pursue. --Dryden.
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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.
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The boy was the very staff of my age. --Shak.
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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.
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3. A pole, stick, or wand borne as an ensign of authority; a
badge of office; as, a constable's staff.
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Methought this staff, mine office badge in court,
Was broke in twain. --Shak.
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All his officers brake their staves; but at their
return new staves were delivered unto them.
--Hayward.
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4. A pole upon which a flag is supported and displayed.
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5. The round of a ladder. [R.]
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I ascended at one [ladder] of six hundred and
thirty-nine staves. --Dr. J.
Campbell (E.
Brown's
Travels).
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6. A series of verses so disposed that, when it is concluded,
the same order begins again; a stanza; a stave.
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Cowley found out that no kind of staff is proper for
an heroic poem, as being all too lyrical. --Dryden.
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7. (Mus.) The five lines and the spaces on which music is
written; -- formerly called stave.
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8. (Mech.) An arbor, as of a wheel or a pinion of a watch.
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9. (Surg.) The grooved director for the gorget, or knife,
used in cutting for stone in the bladder.
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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 ['E]tat Major.
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11. Hence: A body of assistants serving to carry into effect
the plans of a superintendent or manager; sometimes used
for the entire group of employees of an enterprise,
excluding the top management; as, the staff of a
newspaper.
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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 (Celastrus scandens) is commonly called
bittersweet. See 2d Bittersweet, 3
(b) .
To set up one's staff, To put up one's staff, To set
down one's staff or To put down one's staff, to take up
one's residence; to lodge. [Obs.]
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