staff1

[staf, stahf] /stæf, stɑf/
noun, plural staffs for 1–5, 9; staves
[steyvz] /steɪvz/ (Show IPA) 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
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 followed 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 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
Related forms
staffless, adjective
unstaffed, adjective
well-staffed, adjective
Usage note
See collective noun.

staff2

[staf, stahf] /stæf, stɑf/
noun
1.
a composition of plaster and fibrous material used for a temporary finish and in ornamental work, as on exposition buildings.
Origin
1890-95, Americanism; perhaps < German Stoff stuff
Examples from the web for staff
  • Their product is their employees' knowledge and their distribution channels are the relationships between their staff and clients.
  • Average earnings have also increased more for public staff than for private employees since the start of the decade.
  • Penny's reaction to physics-speak is similar to when my fellow physics teachers start talking shop at staff meeting.
  • All that sounds swell so long as you properly staff your place.
  • Although there will be no staff members on site, the facility will be monitored around the clock.
  • With a few special stories, though, that feeling spreads to a magazine's whole editorial staff.
  • So before you buy, ask the nursery staff about the plant's size at maturity.
  • Given the attention he's brought to his university, he'll soon be asking for a bigger staff.
  • Here's an adaptation that works well for a cook without a staff.
  • Our staff photographer loads these pocket-size drives with pics from the year, then sends them to friends and family.
British Dictionary definitions for staff

staff1

/stɑːf/
noun (pl) (for senses 1,3,4) staffs (pl) (for senses 5-9) staffs, 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 establishment: a 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 supports: bread is the staff of life
7.
a pole on which a flag is hung
8.
(mainly Brit) a graduated rod used in surveying, esp for sighting to with a levelling instrument Usual US name rod
9.
(music) Also called stave
  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 clef: the treble staff
verb
10.
(transitive) to provide with a staff
Word Origin
Old English stæf; related to Old Frisian stef, Old Saxon staf, German Stab, Old Norse stafr, Gothic Stafs; see stave

staff2

/stɑːf/
noun
1.
(US) a mixture of plaster and hair used to cover the external surface of temporary structures and for decoration
Word Origin
C19: of unknown origin
Word Origin and History for 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.

v.

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

staff in Medicine

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.

Slang definitions & phrases for staff

staff

Related Terms

chief of staff


Encyclopedia Article for staff

in the notation of Western music, five parallel horizontal lines that, with a clef, indicate the pitch of musical notes. The invention of the staff is traditionally ascribed to Guido d'Arezzo in about the year 1000, although there are earlier manuscripts in which neumes (signs from which musical notes evolved) are arranged around one or two lines in order to orient the singer. Guido used three or four lines of different colours. A four-line staff is still used to notate plainchant.

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