staff English · revision 3382

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 800|origins=gem-pro *stabaz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /stɑːf/, US /stæf/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|staf]], [[inh|ang|stæf|t=stick, staff; letter]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) from [[gem-pro|*stabaz]],^(Barnhart 1988) the source also of Old Saxon and Dutch [[m|nl|staf]], Old Norse [[m|non|stafr]], Old Frisian [[m|ofs|stef]] and German [[m|de|Stab]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966) It is from [[ine-pro|*stebʰ-|alt=*stebh-|t=post, stem; to support]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) which also gave Lithuanian stiebas “staff, pillar” and Sanskrit stabhnāti “he supports”.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) Etymonline thinks it is not connected to [[stiff]].^(Etymonline) Old English stæf also meant “letter, character”, and [[stave]] is a back-formation from the plural staves.^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A stick carried as an aid in walking: about 725,^(OED 1989) before 800,^(Barnhart 1988) and a bishop's staff before 1102.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Many extended senses come from the notion of “that which supports”, such as ''staff of life'', “bread”, from the biblical ''break the staff of bread'' in Leviticus.^(Etymonline) A stick used as a weapon is from about 1000,^(OED 1989) a magic wand from 1610,^(OED 1989) and a flagpole from the 1610s.^(Etymonline) The set of horizontal lines in musical notation is from the 1660s.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) A group of military officers assisting a commander, not in charge of troops, is from 1702 in Etymonline, apparently from German,^(Etymonline) or 1779 in Barnhart, probably from the old sense of a supporting pole.^(Barnhart 1988) Any group of employees, as in an office, is first recorded in Carlyle's ''The French Revolution'' (1837).^(Barnhart 1988) The verb, “to provide with staff”, is from 1859.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – a walking stick.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1102 – a bishop's staff.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1000 – a weapon.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1610s – a flagpole.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1660s – the musical staff.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1702 – military staff officers.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1837 – a body of employees.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1859 – verb, to provide with staff.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The people who work for an organization or under a manager.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A group of officers who assist a military commander.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A stick carried as an aid in walking; a stout stick used as a weapon.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A rod carried as a symbol of authority.^(AHD)

+ # ''(music)'' The five horizontal lines on which notes are written; a [[stave]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To provide with a staff of workers.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # To work as staff in.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[staffless]]

+ * [[cowlstaff]]

+ * [[forestaff]]

+ * [[nonstaff]]

+ * [[pikestaff]]

+ * [[staffman]]

+ * [[tipstaff]]

+ * [[waitstaff]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[stave]]

+ * [[staple]]

+ * [[stiff]]

+ * [[staffage]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Hoad notes that the plural ''staves'' is now chiefly literary except where ''stave'' is the usual singular, and that ''staffs'' is the only plural for groups of people.^(Hoad 1986) An unrelated ''staff'', a mixture of plaster and fibre for temporary buildings such as those of exhibitions, is from 1892, perhaps from German Stoff “stuff”.^(OED 1989)^(AHD 2000)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}