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staff out

 - 4 dictionary results

staff

1  [staf, stahf] ,noun, plural staffs for 1–5, 9; staves  [steyv] or staffs for 6–8, 10, 11; adjective, verb
Use staff out in a Sentence
–noun
1. a group of persons, as employees, charged with carrying out the work of an establishment or executing some undertaking.
2. a group of assistants to a manager, superintendent, or executive.
3. a member of a staff.
4. Military.
a. a body of officers without command authority, appointed to assist a commanding officer.
b. the parts of any army concerned with administrative matters, planning, etc., rather than with actual participation in combat.
5. those members of an organization serving only in an auxiliary or advisory capacity on a given project. Compare line 1 (def. 38).
6. a stick, pole, or rod for aid in walking or climbing, for use as a weapon, etc.
7. a rod or wand serving as a symbol of office or authority, as a crozier, baton, truncheon, or mace.
8. a pole on which a flag is hung or displayed.
9. something that supports or sustains.
10. Also, stave. Music. a set of horizontal lines, now five in number, with the corresponding four spaces between them, on which music is written.
11. Archaic. the shaft of a spear, lance, etc.
–adjective
12. of or pertaining to a military or organizational staff: a staff officer; staff meetings.
13. (of a professional person) employed on the staff of a corporation, publication, institution, or the like rather than being self-employed or practicing privately: a staff writer; staff physicians at the hospital.
–verb (used with object)
14. to provide with a staff of assistants or workers: She staffed her office with excellent secretaries.
15. to serve on the staff of.
16. to send to a staff for study or further work (often fol. by out): The White House will staff out the recommendations before making a decision.
–verb (used without object)
17. to hire employees, as for a new office or project (sometimes fol. by up): Next month we'll begin staffing up for the reelection campaign.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME staf (n.), OE stæf; c. D staf, G Stab, ON stafr staff, Skt stabh- support

Related forms:
staffless, adjective

Usage note:
See collective noun.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

staff 
O.E. stæf "walking stick, strong pole used for carrying, rod used as a weapon" (also, in plural, "letter, character, writing," cf. stæfcræft "grammar"), from P.Gmc. *stabaz (cf. O.S. staf, O.N. stafr, O.Fris. stef, M.L.G., M.Du. staf, O.H.G. stab, Ger. Stab, Goth. *stafs "element;" M.Du. stapel "pillar, foundation"), from PIE base *stebh- "post, stem, to support, place firmly on, fasten" (cf. O.Lith. stabas "idol," Lith. stebas "staff, pillar;" O.C.S. stoboru "pillar;" Skt. stabhnati "supports;" Gk. stephein "to tie around, encircle, wreathe," staphyle "grapevine, bunch of grapes;" O.E. stapol "post, pillar"). Sense of "group of military officers that assists a commander" is attested from 1702, apparently from Ger., from the notion of the "baton" that is a badge of office or authority (a sense attested in Eng. from 1535). Meaning "group of employees (as at an office or hospital)" is first found 1837. The verb meaning "to provide with a staff of assistants" is from 1859. Staff of life "bread" is from the Biblical phrase "to break the staff of bread" (Lev. xxvi.26), transl. Heb. matteh lekhem.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: staff
Pronunciation: 'staf
Function: noun
: the doctors and surgeons regularly attached to a hospital and helping to determine its policies andguide its activities
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

staff (stāf)
n.

  1. A specific group of workers.

  2. See director.

v. staffed, staff·ing, staffs

  1. To provide with a staff of workers or assistants.

  2. To serve on the staff of.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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