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definitions

staves

[steyvz]
noun
  1. a plural of staff1.
  2. plural of stave.

staff

1
[staf, stahf]
noun, plural staffs for 1–5, 9; staves [steyvz] /steɪvz/ or staffs for 6–8, 10, 11.
  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.
    1. a body of officers without command authority, appointed to assist a commanding officer.
    2. 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 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. 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
  1. of or relating to a military or organizational staff: a staff officer; staff meetings.
  2. (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)
  1. to provide with a staff of assistants or workers: She staffed her office with excellent secretaries.
  2. to serve on the staff of.
  3. to send to a staff for study or further work (often followed by out): The White House will staff out the recommendations before making a decision.
verb (used without object)
  1. 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 of staff

1
before 900; Middle English staf (noun), Old English stæf; cognate with Dutch staf, German Stab, Old Norse stafr staff, Sanskrit stabh- support
Related formsstaff·less, adjectiveun·staffed, adjectivewell-staffed, adjective
Can be confusedstaff staph

Usage note

See collective noun.

stave

[steyv]
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. Prosody.
    1. a verse or stanza of a poem or song.
    2. the alliterating sound in a line of verse, as the w-sound in wind in the willows.
  5. Music. staff1(def 10).
verb (used with object), staved or stove, stav·ing.
  1. to break in a stave or staves of (a cask or barrel) so as to release the wine, liquor, or other contents.
  2. to release (wine, liquor, etc.) by breaking the cask or barrel.
  3. to break or crush (something) inward (often followed by in).
  4. to break (a hole) in, especially in the hull of a boat.
  5. to break to pieces; splinter; smash.
  6. to furnish with a stave or staves.
  7. to beat with a stave or staff.
verb (used without object), staved or stove, stav·ing.
  1. to become staved in, as a boat; break in or up.
  2. to move along rapidly.
Verb Phrases
  1. stave off,
    1. to put, ward, or keep off, as by force or evasion.
    2. to prevent in time; forestall: He wasn't able to stave off bankruptcy.

Origin of stave

1125–75; (noun) Middle English, back formation from staves; (v.) derivative of the noun
Related formsun·staved, adjective

Synonyms for stave

4. See verse.

staff

2
[staf, stahf]
noun
  1. a composition of plaster and fibrous material used for a temporary finish and in ornamental work, as on exposition buildings.

Origin of staff

2
1890–95, Americanism; perhaps < German Stoff stuff
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for staves

thwart, avert, forestall, avoid, preclude, foil, counteract, anticipate, halt, obstruct, prohibit, forbid, obviate, restrict, hamper, check, debar, repress, arrest, restrain

Examples from the Web for staves

Contemporary Examples of staves

Historical Examples of staves

British Dictionary definitions for staves

staves

noun
  1. a plural of staff 1, stave

staff

1
noun plural for senses 1,3,4 staffs or plural for senses 5-9 staffs or staves (steɪvz)
  1. a group of people employed by a company, individual, etc, for executive, clerical, sales work, etc
  2. (modifier) attached to or provided for the staff of an establishmenta staff doctor
  3. the body of teachers or lecturers of an educational institution, as distinct from the students
  4. the officers appointed to assist a commander, service, or central headquarters organization in establishing policy, plans, etc
  5. a stick with some special use, such as a walking stick or an emblem of authority
  6. something that sustains or supportsbread is the staff of life
  7. a pole on which a flag is hung
  8. mainly British a graduated rod used in surveying, esp for sighting to with a levelling instrumentUsual US name: rod
  9. Also called: stave music
    1. the system of horizontal lines grouped into sets of five (four in the case of plainsong) upon which music is written. The spaces between them are also used, being employed in conjunction with a clef in order to give a graphic indication of pitch
    2. any set of five lines in this system together with its clefthe treble staff
verb
  1. (tr) to provide with a staff

Word Origin for staff

Old English stæf; related to Old Frisian stef, Old Saxon staf, German Stab, Old Norse stafr, Gothic Stafs; see stave

staff

2
noun
  1. US a mixture of plaster and hair used to cover the external surface of temporary structures and for decoration

Word Origin for staff

C19: of unknown origin

stave

noun
  1. any one of a number of long strips of wood joined together to form a barrel, bucket, boat hull, etc
  2. any of various bars, slats, or rods, usually of wood, such as a rung of a ladder or a crosspiece bracing the legs of a chair
  3. any stick, staff, etc
  4. a stanza or verse of a poem
  5. music
    1. Britishan individual group of five lines and four spaces used in staff notation
    2. another word for staff 1 (def. 9)
verb staves, staving, staved or stove
  1. (often foll by in) to break or crush (the staves of a boat, barrel, etc) or (of the staves of a boat) to be broken or crushed
  2. (tr usually foll by in) to burst or force (a hole in something)
  3. (tr) to provide (a ladder, chair, etc) with a stave or staves
  4. (tr) Scot to sprain (a finger, toe, etc)

Word Origin for stave

C14: back formation from staves, plural of staff 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for staves

staff

n.

Old English stæf "walking stick, strong pole used for carrying, rod used as a weapon" (also, in plural, "letter, character, writing," cf. stæfcræft "grammar"), from Proto-Germanic *stabaz (cf. Old Saxon staf, Old Norse stafr, Old Frisian stef, Middle Low German and Middle Dutch staf, Old High German stab, German Stab, Gothic *stafs "element;" Middle Dutch stapel "pillar, foundation"), from PIE root *stebh- "post, stem, to support, place firmly on, fasten" (cf. Old Lithuanian stabas "idol," Lithuanian stebas "staff, pillar;" Old Church Slavonic stoboru "pillar;" Sanskrit stabhnati "supports;" Greek stephein "to tie around, encircle, wreathe," staphyle "grapevine, bunch of grapes;" Old English stapol "post, pillar").

Sense of "group of military officers that assists a commander" is attested from 1702, apparently from German, from the notion of the "baton" that is a badge of office or authority (a sense attested in English from 1530s). Meaning "group of employees (as at an office or hospital)" is first found 1837. Staff of life "bread" is from the Biblical phrase "to break the staff of bread" (Lev. xxvi:26), translating Hebrew matteh lekhem.

stave

n.

"piece of a barrel," 1750, back-formation from staves (late 14c.), plural of staff (cf. leaves/leaf), possibly from Old English, 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 literally "keep off with a staff," as of dogs.

staff

v.

"to provide with a staff of assistants," 1859, from staff (n.). Related: Staffed; staffing.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
staves in Medicine

staff

[stăf]
n.
  1. A specific group of workers.
  2. director
v.
  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.