staff
[stäːf]
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.08 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A long, straight, thick wooden rod or stick, especially one used to assist in walking.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A series of horizontal lines on which musical notes are written; a stave.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "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."
- "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."
- "The company employed 10 new members of staff this month."
- "The company has taken on 1600 more highly-paid staff."
- "No department of the Southern Railway escaped some share of the work involved, and the outdoor traffic and locomotive staffs in particular were engaged literally night and day, snatching a few hours' sleep as opportunity offered, until the task was completed."
- "Most staff do not have the skills to cope with such challenging patients, who too often receive "impersonal" care and suffer from boredom, the first National Audit of Dementia found. It says hospitals should introduce "dementia champions"."
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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: [stäːf]
- British English: [stɑːf]