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.]
Hear it pronounced