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Staff of life   /stæf əv laɪf/   Listen
noun
Staff  n.  
1.
A long piece of wood; a stick; the long handle of an instrument or weapon; a pole or stick, used for many purposes; as, a surveyor's staff; the staff of a spear or pike. (pl. staves or staffs) "And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar to bear it withal." "With forks and staves the felon to pursue."
2.
A stick carried in the hand for support or defense by a person walking; hence, a support; that which props or upholds. (pl. staves or staffs) "Hooked staves." "The boy was the very staff of my age." "He spoke of it (beer) in "The Earnest Cry," and likewise in the "Scotch Drink," as one of the staffs of life which had been struck from the poor man's hand."
3.
A pole, stick, or wand borne as an ensign of authority; a badge of office; as, a constable's staff. (pl. staves or staffs) "Methought this staff, mine office badge in court, Was broke in twain." "All his officers brake their staves; but at their return new staves were delivered unto them."
4.
A pole upon which a flag is supported and displayed. (pl. staves or staffs)
5.
The round of a ladder. (R.) (pl. staves or staffs) "I ascended at one (ladder) of six hundred and thirty-nine staves."
6.
A series of verses so disposed that, when it is concluded, the same order begins again; a stanza; a stave. (pl. staves or staffs) "Cowley found out that no kind of staff is proper for an heroic poem, as being all too lyrical."
7.
(Mus.) The five lines and the spaces on which music is written; formerly called stave. (pl. staves or staffs)
8.
(Mech.) An arbor, as of a wheel or a pinion of a watch. (pl. staves or staffs)
9.
(Surg.) The grooved director for the gorget, or knife, used in cutting for stone in the bladder. (pl. staves or staffs)
10.
(Mil.) 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. See etat Major. (pl. staffs)
11.
Hence: A body of assistants serving to carry into effect the plans of a superintendent or manager; sometimes used for the entire group of employees of an enterprise, excluding the top management; as, the staff of a newspaper. (pl. staffs)
Jacob's staff (Surv.), a single straight rod or staff, pointed and iron-shod at the bottom, for penetrating the ground, and having a socket joint at the top, used, instead of a tripod, for supporting a compass.
Staff angle (Arch.), a square rod of wood standing flush with the wall on each of its sides, at the external angles of plastering, to prevent their being damaged.
The staff of life, bread. "Bread is the staff of life."
Staff tree (Bot.), any plant of the genus Celastrus, mostly climbing shrubs of the northern hemisphere. The American species (Celastrus scandens) is commonly called bittersweet. See 2d Bittersweet, 3 (b).
To set up one's staff, To put up one's staff, To set down one's staff or To put down one's staff, to take up one's residence; to lodge. (Obs.)





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Staff of life" Quotes from Famous Books



... also visited two grist mills operated by horses on a treadmill, which was a large wooden wheel turned on its side, so the horses could stand on it. I was not pleased with the nearness of the manure in one of these mills to the material from which the "staff of life" ...
— A Trip Abroad • Don Carlos Janes
... "Buenos Ayres was founded in 1535 by Don Pedro de Mendoza, who gave it that name on account of the salubrity of its climate. This town is in many respects the most considerable of all the commercial towns in South America. Bread is by no means the staff of life here, for meat and the great variety of roots and grain with which the country abounds, afford to the poor inhabitants an equally healthy ...
— The World of Waters - A Peaceful Progress o'er the Unpathed Sea • Mrs. David Osborne
... least say, and appeal to the past history of the country to show it, that for a period of more than one hundred years, the supply of the Atlantic wheat States has generally been constant, and for the most part abundant. They have furnished the "staff of life" to several generations of men, and cotemporary with it, an annual amount for export, that materially assisted in regulating the ...
— The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom • P. L. Simmonds
... with the divine, and yet in marked contrast with the narrow, selfish, short-sighted policy of the debased wisdom of this world. Their broad teaching is very clear; look forward,—live not for the present; but instead of hoarding or laying up for the evil day, cast thy bread—that staff of life, thy living—boldly upon the waters, it shall not be lost. You have, in so doing, intrusted it to the care of Him who loseth nothing; and the future, though perhaps far off, shall give thee a full harvest for such sowing. But, to be more explicit, give with a free hand ...
— Old Groans and New Songs - Being Meditations on the Book of Ecclesiastes • F. C. Jennings
... which may once have been striking and effective, or witty and felicitous, but which have become worn out by oft-repeated use, should be avoided. The following hackneyed phrases will serve to illustrate: "The staff of life," "gave up the ship," "counterfeit presentment," "the hymeneal altar," "bold as a lion," "throw cold water upon," "the rose upon the cheek," "lords of creation," "the weaker sex," "the better half," "the rising generation," "tripping ...
— Slips of Speech • John H. Bechtel


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