Distaff

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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.
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     Note: 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]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  distaff
       adj : characteristic of or peculiar to a woman; "female
             sensitiveness"; "female suffrage" [syn: {female}]
       n 1: the sphere of work by women
       2: the staff on which wool or flax is wound before spinning

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:

  Distaff
     (Heb. pelek, a "circle"), the instrument used for twisting
     threads by a whirl (Prov. 31:19).