Quarterstaff
//ˈkwɔɹtəɹˌstæf// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A wooden staff with an approximate length between 2 and 2.5 meters, sometimes tipped with iron, used as a weapon in rural England during the Early Modern period.
"Name my accuſer ſaith he, or I defye thee Kemp at the quart ſtaffe."
- 2 a long stout staff used as a weapon wordnet
- 3 Fighting or exercise with a wooden staff of this sort.
"He was very adept at quarterstaff."
Example
More examples"Name my accuſer ſaith he, or I defye thee Kemp at the quart ſtaffe."
Etymology
From quarter + staff, attested since about 1550. Probably originally referred to a staff cut from the heartwood of a certain size of tree which was cleft into four parts, per the OED.
More for "quarterstaff"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.