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(), n.; pl. Staves ( or ; 277) or Staffs () in senses 1-9, Staffs in senses 10, 11. [AS. stf a staff; akin to LG. & D. staf, OFries stef, G. stab, Icel. stafr, Sw. staf, Dan. stav, Goth. stabs element, rudiment, Skr. sthpay 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. W Staff (), n.[G. staffiren to fill or fit out, adorn, fr. D. stoffeeren, OF. estoffer, F. toffer, fr. OF. estoffe stuff, F. toffe. 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. スポンサード リンク
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