Word: staff Part of Speech: noun Etymology: 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, Danish stav, 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. Pronunciation: /stɑːf/, [stɑːf], [stäːf], [stɐːf], /stæf/ 1. A long, straight, thick wooden rod or stick, especially one used to assist in walking. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: 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. Example: The case was that of a murder. It had an element of mystery about it, however, which was puzzling the authorities. A turban and loincloth soaked in blood had been found; also a staff. 2. A series of horizontal lines on which musical notes are written; a stave. Labels: countable, uncountable 3. People employed by a business or other organisation. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: The company employed 10 new members of staff this month. Example: The company has taken on 1600 more highly-paid staff. 4. A mixture of plaster and fibre used as a temporary exterior wall covering. Labels: uncountable 5. A pole, stick, or wand borne as an ensign of authority; a badge of office. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: a constable's staff Example: Me thought this ſtaffe mine Office-badge in Court / Was broke in twaine: 6. A pole upon which a flag is supported and displayed. Labels: countable, uncountable 7. The rung of a ladder. Labels: archaic, countable, uncountable Example: I ascend at one [ladder] of six hundred and thirty-nine staves. 8. A series of verses so disposed that, when it is concluded, the same order begins again; a stanza; a stave. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Mr. Cowley had found out, that no kind of Staff is proper for an Heroick Poem; as being all too lirical: 9. An arbor, as of a wheel or a pinion of a watch. Labels: countable, uncountable 10. The grooved director for the gorget, or knife, used in cutting for stone in the bladder. Labels: countable, uncountable 11. 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. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: 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. 12. A form of token once used, in combination with a ticket, for safe train movements between two points on a single line. Labels: archaic, countable, uncountable Example: 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, […]. Example: The first up train was the morning semi-fast ex Buncrana, which sped through with No. 8 at its head, adroitly exchanging staffs at about 15 m.p.h. […] The next train through Tooban was our opposite number, and we duly received the vital staff.