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Staff

//stɑːf// noun, verb

Definitions

Noun

1
A long, straight, thick wooden rod or stick, especially one used to assist in walking. countable, uncountable
"And thus ſhall ye eate it [the lamb]: with your loines girded, your ſhooes on your feet, and your ſtaffe in your hand: and ye ſhall eate it in haſte: it is the Lords Paſſeouer."
2
Misspelling of staph. alt-of, misspelling
3
a strong rod or stick with a specialized utilitarian purpose wordnet
4
A series of horizontal lines on which musical notes are written; a stave. countable, uncountable
5
(music) the system of five horizontal lines on which the musical notes are written wordnet

Show 14 more definitions

6
The employees of a business. countable, uncountable
"The company employed 10 new members of staff this month."
7
a rod carried as a symbol wordnet
8
A mixture of plaster and fibre used as a temporary exterior wall covering.ᵂ uncountable
9
the body of teachers and administrators at a school wordnet
10
A pole, stick, or wand borne as an ensign of authority; a badge of office. countable, uncountable
"a constable's staff"
11
personnel who assist their superior in carrying out an assigned task wordnet
12
A pole upon which a flag is supported and displayed. countable, uncountable
13
building material consisting of plaster and hair; used to cover external surfaces of temporary structure (as at an exposition) or for decoration wordnet
14
The rung of a ladder. archaic, countable, uncountable
"I ascend at one [ladder] of six hundred and thirty-nine staves."
15
A series of verses so disposed that, when it is concluded, the same order begins again; a stanza; a stave. countable, uncountable
"Mr. Cowley had found out, that no kind of Staff is proper for an Heroick Poem; as being all too lirical:"
16
An arbor, as of a wheel or a pinion of a watch. countable, uncountable
17
The grooved director for the gorget, or knife, used in cutting for stone in the bladder. countable, uncountable
18
An establishment of officers in various departments attached to an army, to a section of an army, or to the commander of an army. The general's staff consists of those officers about his person who are employed in carrying his commands into execution. countable, uncountable
"At the head of that division which had Westminster Bridge for its approach to the scene of action, Lord George Gordon took his post; with Gashford at his right hand, and sundry ruffians, of most unpromising appearance, forming a kind of staff about him."
19
A form of token once used, in combination with a ticket, for safe train movements between two points on a single line. archaic, countable, uncountable
"The train-staff and ticket system was used widely at one time, until superseded by electrical token systems, the first of which, the tablet system, appeared in 1878, […]."

Verb

1
To supply (a business, volunteer organization, etc.) with employees or staff members. transitive
"Interlaken East station is jointly owned with the standard gauge Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon Railway from Bern and Thun and the Swiss Federal Railways metre-gauge Brünig line from Lucerne, but is managed and staffed by the Bernese Oberland group."
2
provide with staff wordnet
3
serve on the staff of wordnet

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English staf, from Old English stæf (“letter of the alphabet”), from Proto-West Germanic *stab, from Proto-Germanic *stabaz. Cognate with Dutch staf, German Stab, Swedish stav. Sense of "group of military officers that assists a commander" and similar meanings, attested from 1702, is influenced by or is even from German Stab.

Etymology 2

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