staves

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

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.

stave

[steyv] /steɪv/
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 9).
verb (used with object), staved or stove, staving.
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.
to break to pieces; splinter; smash.
11.
to furnish with a stave or staves.
12.
to beat with a stave or staff.
verb (used without object), staved or stove, staving.
13.
to become staved in, as a boat; break in or up.
14.
to move along rapidly.
Verb phrases
15.
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
1125-75; (noun) Middle English, back formation from staves; (v.) derivative of the noun
Related forms
unstaved, adjective
Synonyms
4. See verse.

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 staves
  • The building had once been a factory for the making of barrel staves but was now vacant.
  • The spray paint did not last long, but the cracking paint did make the staves look a little more wooden from a distance.
  • Simply being served a cup of coffee staves off my depression for a whole hour.
  • The director staves off the end of this yarn so long as it is possible.
  • Money came from selling one's spare labor in the woods--cutting and hauling logs, barrel staves, and railroad ties.
  • H e seemed to have read everything and he had the rare faculty of being able to quote longish staves of prose from memory.
  • The ivy has grown between the mating surfaces of the tank's hoops, bands, and staves causing the deformation of the tank.
  • The staves then proceed through the jointers, where they are tapered on each end and the sides are angled.
  • Tribal member can obtain permits for wood-cutting and fence staves.
  • Manufacturing wood shingles or, barrel staves, sawed or split.
British Dictionary definitions for staves

staves

/steɪvz/
noun
1.
a plural of staff1 , stave

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

stave

/steɪv/
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. (Brit) an individual group of five lines and four spaces used in staff notation
  2. another word for staff1 (sense 9)
verb staves, staving, staved, stove
6.
(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
7.
(transitive) usually foll by in. to burst or force (a hole in something)
8.
(transitive) to provide (a ladder, chair, etc) with a stave or staves
9.
(transitive) (Scot) to sprain (a finger, toe, etc)
Word Origin
C14: back formation from staves, plural of staff1
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.

v.

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

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.

staves 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 staves

staff

Related Terms

chief of staff


Encyclopedia Article for staves

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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