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staff
1
[staf, stahf] ,noun, plural staffs for 1–5, 9; staves [steyv] or staffs for 6–8, 10, 11; adjective, verb 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.
EXPANDthose members of an organization serving only in an auxiliary or advisory capacity on a given project. Compare line1 (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.
11.
COLLAPSEArchaic. 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.
verb (used without object)
17.
to hire employees, as for a new office or project (sometimes followed by up): Next month we'll begin staffing up for the reelection campaign.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English staf (noun), Old English stæf; cognate with Dutch staf, German Stab, Old Norse stafr staff, Sanskrit stabh- support
before 900; Middle English staf (noun), Old English stæf; cognate with Dutch staf, German Stab, Old Norse stafr staff, Sanskrit stabh- support
Related forms
staff·less, adjective
un·staffed, adjective
well-staffed, adjective
noun
1.
one of the thin, narrow, shaped pieces of wood that form the sides of a cask, tub, or similar vessel.
2.
a stick, rod, pole, or the like.
3.
a rung of a ladder, chair, etc.
4.
5.
Music. staff1 (def. 9).
verb (used with object)
6.
to break in a stave or staves of (a cask or barrel) so as to release the wine, liquor, or other contents.
7.
to release (wine, liquor, etc.) by breaking the cask or barrel.
8.
to break or crush (something) inward (often followed by in).
9.
to break (a hole) in, especially in the hull of a boat.
10.
EXPANDto break to pieces; splinter; smash.
verb (used without object)
Verb phrase13.
to become staved in, as a boat; break in or up.
14.
to move along rapidly.
15.
stave off,
a.
to put, ward, or keep off, as by force or evasion.
b.
to prevent in time; forestall: He wasn't able to stave off bankruptcy.
Origin:
1125–75; (noun) Middle English, back formation from staves; (v.) derivative of the noun
1125–75; (noun) Middle English, back formation from staves; (v.) derivative of the noun
Related forms
un·staved, adjective
noun
a composition of plaster and fibrous material used for a temporary finish and in ornamental work, as on exposition buildings.
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 staves
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
Cite This Source
Etymonline
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;"
EXPAND 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.
stave
"piece of a barrel," 1750, back-formation from staves (late 14c.), plural of staff (cf. leaves/leaf), possibly from O.E., but not recorded there. The verb (to stave in, past tense stove) is 1590s, originally nautical, on notion of bashing in the staves of a cask and letting
out the contents; stave off (1620s) is lit. "keep off with a staff," as of dogs.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
staff (stāf)
n.
A specific group of workers.
See director.
To provide with a staff of workers or assistants.
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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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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