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staff

noun
/stɑːf//stɑːf/UK/stæf/CA

Etymology

From Middle English staf, from Old English stæf (“letter of the alphabet”), from Proto-West Germanic *stab, from Proto-Germanic *stabaz. Cognate with Dutch staf, German Stab, Danish stav, Swedish stav. Sense of "group of military officers that assists a commander" and similar meanings, attested from 1702, is influenced by or is even from German Stab.

  1. inherited from *stabaz✻
  2. inherited from *stab✻
  3. inherited from stæf — “letter of the alphabet”
  4. inherited from staf

Definitions

  1. A long, straight, thick wooden rod or stick, especially one used to assist in walking.

    • And thus ſhall ye eate it [the lamb]: with your loines girded, your ſhooes on your feet, and your ſtaffe in your hand: and ye ſhall eate it in haſte: it is the Lords Paſſeouer.
    • The case was that of a murder. It had an element of mystery about it, however, which was puzzling the authorities. A turban and loincloth soaked in blood had been found; also a staff.

  2. A series of horizontal lines on which musical notes are written

    A series of horizontal lines on which musical notes are written; a stave.

  3. The employees of a business.

    • The company employed 10 new members of staff this month.
    • The company has taken on 1600 more highly-paid staff.
  4. ›+ 11 more definitions

    1. A mixture of plaster and fibre used as a temporary exterior wall covering.ᵂ

    2. A pole, stick, or wand borne as an ensign of authority

      A pole, stick, or wand borne as an ensign of authority; a badge of office.

      • a constable's staff
      • Me thought this ſtaffe mine Office-badge in Court / Was broke in twaine:
      • All his officers brake their staves; but at their return new staves were delivered unto them.

    3. A pole upon which a flag is supported and displayed.

    4. The rung of a ladder.

      • I ascend at one [ladder] of six hundred and thirty-nine staves.

    5. A series of verses so disposed that, when it is concluded, the same order begins again

      A series of verses so disposed that, when it is concluded, the same order begins again; a stanza; a stave.

      • Mr. Cowley had found out, that no kind of Staff is proper for an Heroick Poem; as being all too lirical:

    6. An arbor, as of a wheel or a pinion of a watch.

    7. The grooved director for the gorget, or knife, used in cutting for stone in the bladder.

    8. An establishment of officers in various departments attached to an army, to a section of…

      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.

    9. A form of token once used, in combination with a ticket, for safe train movements between…

      A form of token once used, in combination with a ticket, for safe train movements between two points on a single line.

      • The train-staff and ticket system was used widely at one time, until superseded by electrical token systems, the first of which, the tablet system, appeared in 1878, […].
      • The unusual rolling stock, the fare collection methods, and the exchange of train staffs make it quite clear that here is something out of the ordinary run of suburban electric lines.

    10. To supply (a business, volunteer organization, etc.) with employees or staff members.

    11. Misspelling of staph.

The neighborhood

Derived

Aesculapian staff, air staff, airstaff, almucantar staff, backroom staff, barstaff, bass staff, bedstaff, bookstaff, broomstaff, cantoral staff, centurion's staff, chief of staff, churn-staff, cleystaff, completed staff work, constaff, cowl-staff, cowlstaff, cross-staff, destaff, dogs have masters, cats have staff, dogs have owners, cats have staff, doorstaff, flag-staff, flagstaff, flag staff, forestaff, general staff, grand staff, groundstaff, ground staff, half-staff, half staff, handstaff, jackstaff, jack-staff, Jacob's staff, Jedburgh staff, Jeddart staff · +58 more

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at staff. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01staff02written03write04letters05literature06works07factories08factory09police

A definitional loop anchored at staff. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

9 hops · closes at staff

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA