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Origin and history of staff

staff(n.)

Middle English staf, "stick or pole," especially one about 5 or 6 feet long and carried in the hand, from Old English stæf (plural stafas), "walking stick, strong pole used for carrying, rod used as a weapon, pastoral staff," probably originally *stæb, from Proto-Germanic *stab- (source also of Old Saxon staf, Old Norse stafr, Danish stav, Old Frisian stef, Middle Low German and Middle Dutch staf, Old High German stab, German Stab, Gothic *stafs "element;" Middle Dutch stapel "pillar, foundation").

This is reconstructed to be from PIE root *stebh- "post, stem, to support, place firmly on, fasten" (source also of Old Lithuanian stabas "idol," Lithuanian stiebas "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"). It is thus thought to be not connected to stiff.

Many extended senses are from the notion of "that which upholds or supports, that which sustains" such as staff of life "bread," from the Biblical phrase break the staff of bread meaning "cut off the supply of food" (Leviticus xxvi.26), translating Hebrew matteh lekhem. As "pole from which a flag is flown," 1610s. In reference to the horizontal lines in musical notation, from 1660s.

Sense of "group of military officers that assists a commander but are not in charge of troops" 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); hence staff officer (1702), staff-sergeant (1811). In this sense staffs is the usual plural. The meaning "group of employees (as at an office or hospital)" is attested by 1837.

Old English stæf, in plural, was the common word for "letter of the alphabet, character," hence "writing, literature," and its use in Old English compounds having to do with writing, such as stæfcræft "grammar," stæfcræftig "lettered," stæflic "literary," stæfleahtor "grammatical error," with leahtor "vice, sin, offense."

staff(v.)

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

also from 1859

Entries linking to staff

stiff(adj.)

Middle English stif, from Old English stif "rigid, inflexible, not easily bent," in physical senses often suggesting rigor mortis, from Proto-Germanic *stifaz "inflexible" (source also of Dutch stijf, Old Frisian stef, Old High German stif, German steif "stiff;" Old Norse stifla "choke").

The Germanic word is said to be from a PIE *stipos-, from the root *steip- "press together, pack, cram" (source also of Sanskrit styayate "coagulates," stima "slow;" Greek stia, stion "small stone," steibo "press together;" Latin stipare "pack down, compress," perhaps also stipes "post, tree trunk;" Lithuanian stipti "to stiffen, grow rigid," stiprus "strong;" Old Church Slavonic stena "wall"). However Boutkan suggests the possibility that the Germanic words are a metaphoric use from words for staff (n.).

By extension, "strong, violent; difficult to master or overcome:" In reference to battles and competitions, "fierce, stubborn, contested," mid-13c.; of winds or currents c. 1300; of liquor from 1813. In Middle English also "powerful, staunch, unmoving, resolute," and paired alliteratively with strong.

Of substances, "not fluid, thick and tenacious," early 15c. As "not natural or easy in movement," c. 1300. As "rigidly ceremonious, not easy or gracious in manner," c. 1600. To keep a stiff upper lip is attested from 1811. Related: Stiffly.

distaff(n.)

Old English distæf "long, cleft stick that holds flax for spinning," from dis- "bunch of flax" (cognates: Middle Low German dise, Low German diesse "a bunch of flax on a distaff;" compare bedizen) + stæf "stick, staff" (see staff (n.) ).

Figurative of "women's work" from late 14c.; a synonym in English for "a woman, the female sex, female authority in the family," at least since late 15c., presumably because spinning was typically done by women of all ranks. Hence distaff side (1848) a 19c. collective name (affecting to be older) for the female members of a family, especially with reference to relationship and descent (opposed to the spear side).

St. Distaff's Day (1640s) was Jan. 7, when "women resumed their spinning and other ordinary employments after the holidays" [OED].

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grammar
late 14c., "Latin grammar, rules of Latin," from Old French gramaire "grammar; learning," especially Latin and philology, also "(magic) incantation, spells, mumbo-jumbo" (12c., Modern French grammaire), an "irregular semi-popular adoption" [OED, 2nd ed. 1989] of Latin grammatica
quarterstaff
also quarter-staff, 1540s (quarter-stroke "stroke with a quarterstaff" is attested from early 15c.), an old weapon formed from a stout pole, six to eight feet long (six-and-a-half sometimes is given as the standard length), tipped with iron, formerly a weapon characteristic of th
stamp
Middle English stampen "pound, mash, beat, crush," from Old English stempan "to pound, crush, or bruise in or as in a mortar," from Proto-Germanic *stamp- (source also of Old Norse stappa, Danish stampe, Middle Dutch stampen, Old High German stampfon, German stampfen "to stamp wi
baton
1540s, "a staff used as a weapon," from French bâton "stick, walking stick, staff, club, wand," from Old French baston (12c..."stick, staff, rod," from Late Latin bastum "stout staff," which probably is of Gaulish origin or else from Greek *baston...The meaning "staff carried as a symbol of office" is from 1580s; the musical sense of "conductor's wand" is by 1823, from...
crozier
"long staff ending in a hook or curve, carried by or before a bishop or archbishop on solemn occasions," late 13c., croiser...(mid-13c. as a surname), "one who bears a bishop's staff, prelate's crosier-bearer," from Old French crocier, from Medieval...Technically, "the bearer of a bishop's pastoral staff;" erroneously applied to the staff itself since 1733....
bacteria
an organized nucleus," and sometimes cause disease, 1847, plural of Modern Latin bacterium, from Greek bakterion "small staff...," diminutive of baktron "stick, rod, staff, cudgel."...The Greek word is from a PIE *bak- "staff used for support, peg" (compare Latin baculum "rod, walking stick;" Irish bacc,...Welsh bach "hook, crooked staff;" Middle Dutch pegel "peg, pin, bolt")....
scepter
"staff of office peculiar to royalty or independent sovereignty," c. 1300, ceptre, from Old French ceptre, sceptre (12c.)...and directly from Latin sceptrum "royal staff," from Greek skēptron "staff to lean on," in a Persian and Asian context,...
crutch
Middle English crucche, "a support for the lame in walking consisting of a staff of proper length with a crosspiece at one end shaped to fit conveniently under the armpit," from Old English crycce "crutch, staff," from Proto-Germanic *krukjo (source also of Old Saxon krukka, Midd
verse
late Old English (replacing Old English fers, an early West Germanic borrowing directly from Latin), "line or section of a psalm or canticle," later "line of poetry" (late 14c.), from Anglo-French and Old French vers "line of verse; rhyme, song," from Latin versus "a line, row, l
serve
late 12c., serven, "to render habitual obedience to, owe allegiance to," also "minister, give aid, give help," from Old French servir "to do duty toward, show devotion to; set table, serve at table; offer, provide with," from Latin servire "be a servant, be in service, be enslave

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