Distaff

Dis"taff

(?), n.;

pl. Distaffs (#), rarely Distaves (#).

[OE. distaf, dysestafe, AS. distaef; cf. LG. diesse the bunch of flax on a distaff, and E. dizen. See Staff.] 1. The staff for holding a bunch of flax, tow, or wool, from which the thread is drawn in spinning by hand.
[1913 Webster]

I will the distaff hold; come thou and spin.

Fairfax.
[1913 Webster]

2. Used as a symbol of the holder of a distaff; hence, a woman; women, collectively.
[1913 Webster]

His crown usurped, a distaff on the throne.

Dryden.
[1913 Webster]

Some say the crozier, some say the distaff was too busy.

Howell.
[1913 Webster]

The plural is regular, but Distaves occurs in Beaumont & Fletcher.
[1913 Webster]

Descent by distaff, descent on the mother's side. -- Distaff Day, or Distaff's Day, the morrow of the Epiphany, that is, January 7, because working at the distaff was then resumed, after the Christmas festival; -- called also Rock Day, a distaff being called a rock. Shipley.
[1913 Webster]

New - Add Dictionary Search to Your Site

You can add a free dictionary search box to your own web site by copying and pasting the following HTML into one of your web pages:

<form action="http://www.freedict.co.uk/search.php" method="post">
 <p style="text-align: center; font-family: sans-serif;">
  <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.freedict.co.uk/"
     title="FreeDict free online dictionary">FreeDict</a>
  <input type="text" name="word" size="20" value="" />
  <input type="submit" name="submit" value="Search Dictionary" />
 </p>
</form>

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Sat 17th April 2021