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noun
1.
a staff with a cleft end for holding wool, flax, etc., from which the thread is drawn in spinning by hand.
2.
a similar attachment on a spinning wheel.
3.
Archaic.
a.
a woman or women collectively.
b.
woman's work.
adjective
4.
Sometimes Offensive. noting, pertaining to, characteristic of, or suitable for a woman; female.
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Distaff
is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To distaff
Example Sentences
- That, and the songs, should excite every distaff customer in the house and undoubtedly the gentlemen will go for it too.
- Barbara, patron saint of miners, represent the distaff side of humanity down here.
- It won't change, though, if the distaff side talks to themselves.
Collins
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
distaff
O.E. distæf "stick that holds flax for spinning," from dis- "bunch of flax" + stæf "stick, staff." A synonym in Eng. for "the female sex, female authority in the family," since at least the late 1400s, probably because in the Middle Ages spinning was typically done by women.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Easton
Bible Dictionary
Distaff definition
(Heb. pelek, a "circle"), the instrument used for twisting threads by a whirl (Prov. 31:19).
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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