Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
distaff en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˈdɪstæf/ (General-American)
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈdɪstɑːf/ (Received-Pronunciation)
Etymology
From Middle English distaf (“distaff”), from Old English distæf (“distaff”), from *dis- (“bunch of flax”) (cognate with Middle Low German dise (“bunch of flax on a distaff”)) + stæf (“staff”) (from Proto-Germanic *stabaz (“staff, stick”), from Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ-). Senses 3 and 5 (“anything traditionally done by or considered of importance to women only”; “a woman, or women considered as a group”) refer to the fact that spinning was traditionally done by women.
Meanings
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(not-comparable) Of, relating to, or characteristic of women.
Henry knew. If he were blackballed by this distaff Mafia, he was doomed: Endless, but always justifiable, delays would occur in the work he wanted typed.
1968 July, Stan Dryer, “The Fully Automated Love Life of Henry Keanridge”, in Playboy Magazine, page 152:Women predominate not only, I think, because of matriarchal considerations, or claims to divine paternity, but also because Boiotian tradition leans in every way toward the distaff side.
1973, Richmond Lattimore, Hesiod, page 9:
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(not-comparable) Of the maternal side of a family.
Lord Robert Walsingham de Vere St. Simon, second son of the Duke of Balmoral— […] They inherit Plantagenet blood by direct descent, and Tudor on the distaff side.
1892 April, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. IX.—The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor.”, in Geo[rge] Newnes, editor, The Strand Magazine: An Illustrated Monthly, volume III, number 16, London: George Newnes, Limited, […], →OCLC, page 387, column 2:
Antonyms
male · spear · paternal
Deriveds
distaff side
Synonyms
maternal · female
Translations (6)
is kven- (of, relating to, or characteristic of women) · it donnesco (of, relating to, or characteristic of women) · ru же́нский (of, relating to, or characteristic of women) · sv kvinnlig (of, relating to, or characteristic of women) · bg женски (of, relating to, or characteristic of women) · it femminile (of, relating to, or characteristic of women)
wikipedia: Raffaello Sorbi
distaff en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈdɪstæf/ (General-American)
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈdɪstɑːf/ (Received-Pronunciation)
Etymology
From Middle English distaf (“distaff”), from Old English distæf (“distaff”), from *dis- (“bunch of flax”) (cognate with Middle Low German dise (“bunch of flax on a distaff”)) + stæf (“staff”) (from Proto-Germanic *stabaz (“staff, stick”), from Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ-). Senses 3 and 5 (“anything traditionally done by or considered of importance to women only”; “a woman, or women considered as a group”) refer to the fact that spinning was traditionally done by women.
Meanings
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A device to which a bundle of natural fibres (often wool, flax, or cotton) is attached for temporary storage, before being drawn off gradually to spin thread. A traditional distaff is a staff with flax fibres tied loosely to it (as indicated by the etymology of the word), but modern distaffs are often made of cords weighted with beads, and attached to the wrist.
I muſt change armes at home, and giue the diſtaffe
Into my Husbands hands, […]
c. 1603–1606 (date written), [William Shakespeare], […] His True Chronicle Historie of the Life and Death of King Lear and His Three Daughters. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Nathaniel Butter, […], published 1608, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]:Then hadſt thou had an excellent head of haire. […] Excellent, it hangs like flax on a diſtaffe: & I hope to ſee a huſwife take thee between her legs, & ſpin it off.
c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], page 256:
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The part of a spinning wheel from which fibre is drawn to be spun.
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Anything traditionally done by or considered of importance to women only.
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A race for female horses only.
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(also, collective) A woman, or women considered as a group.
"[…] Where is our little distaff member this morning?"
"I had to send her home. She came to work this morning in her nightgown."
Ignatius frowned and said, "I do not understand why she was sent away. After all, we are quite informal here. We are one big family. I only hope that you have not damaged her morale."
1963 (date written), John Kennedy Toole, chapter 5, in A Confederacy of Dunces, London: Penguin Books, published 1980 (1981 printing), →ISBN, page 95:[C]an I ſooth Tyranny?
Seem pleas'd to ſee my Royal Maſter murther'd,
His crown uſurp'd, a Diſtaff in the Throne [Anne, Queen of Great Britain],
A Council made up of ſuch as dare not ſpeak,
And could not if they durſt; […]
1681, John Dryden, The Spanish Fryar: Or, The Double Discovery. Acted at the Duke’s Theatre, London: Printed for Richard Tonson and Jacob Tonson, at Grays-inn-gate, in Grays-inn-lane, and at the Judge's-Head, in Chancery-lane, →OCLC, act IV, [scene ii], page 53:But O, passenger, if thou art desirous to know the cause of these fatal discomposures, of this inextricable war, truly I must deal plainly: I cannot resolve thee herein to any full satisfaction. Grievances there were, I must confess, and some incongruities in my civil government, (wherein, some say, the crozier, some say, the distaff was too busy,) but I little thought, God knows, that those grievances required a redress this way.
1643, James Howell, “England’s Tears for the Present Wars, which, for the Nature of the Quarrel, the Quality of Strength, the Diversity of Battles, Skirmishes, Encounters, and Sieges, Happened in so Short a Compass of Time, Cannot be Paralleled by any Precedent Age”, in Walter Scott, editor, A Collection of Scarce and Valuable Tracts, on the Most Interesting and Entertaining Subjects: But Chiefly Such as Relate to the History and Constitution of These Kingdoms. Selected from an Infinite Number in Print and Manuscript, in the Royal, Cotton, Sion, and Other Public, as well as Private, Libraries; Particularly that of the Late Lord Somers, 2nd edition, volume V, London: Printed for T[homas] Cadell and W. Davies, Strand [et al.], published 1811, →OCLC, page 42:
Forms
Deriveds
Distaff Day · distaffer
Relateds
dize · dizen
Translations (112)
nl rokken (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · gd maide-snìomh (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · sv spinnrockshuvud (part of a spinning wheel) · sl preslica (part of a spinning wheel) · sv kvinnogöra (anything traditionally done by or considered of importance to women only) · sv slända (part of a spinning wheel) · it rocca (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · fi kuontalonpidin (part of a spinning wheel) · it conocchia (part of a spinning wheel) · nl spinstok (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · kab taruka (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · sv rockträ (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · syc ܥܱܪܢܳܣܴܐ (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · de Wocken (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · vo spulömastaf (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · de Spinnrocken (part of a spinning wheel) · da ten (part of a spinning wheel) · sl preslica (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · gd maide-snìomh (part of a spinning wheel) · sh prȅslica (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · pl przęślica (part of a spinning wheel) · gl roca (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · fi kehräpuu (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · cy cogail (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · pt roca (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · cmn 卷线杆 (part of a spinning wheel) · scn ruccheḍḍu (part of a spinning wheel) · he פֶּלֶךְ (anything traditionally done by or considered of importance to women only) · wa kinoye (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · scn spagnuletta (part of a spinning wheel) · cs přeslice (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · fr quenouille (part of a spinning wheel) · ota اوركه (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · uk пря́слице (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · ru пря́слице (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · uk пря́сниця (part of a spinning wheel) · da rok (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · uk пря́сельце (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · sv linstav (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · ru пря́слице (part of a spinning wheel) · de Rocken (part of a spinning wheel) · uk пря́сло (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · bg женска работа (anything traditionally done by or considered of importance to women only) · rm rocca (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · da spinderok (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · it conocchia (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · ja 女性の仕事 (anything traditionally done by or considered of importance to women only) · es rueca (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · pl kobieca robota (anything traditionally done by or considered of importance to women only) · sh ženska posla (anything traditionally done by or considered of importance to women only) · br kegel (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · ja 糸巻き棒 (part of a spinning wheel) · he פֶּלֶךְ (women considered as a group) · pl przęślica (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · gl roca (part of a spinning wheel) · de Rocken (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · hu guzsaly (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · cs přeslice (part of a spinning wheel) · vo spulömastaf (part of a spinning wheel) · fi tortti (part of a spinning wheel) · grc ἠλακάτη (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · fi rukinlapa (part of a spinning wheel) · sh пре̏слица (part of a spinning wheel) · ga coigeal (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · es rueca (part of a spinning wheel) · ru пря́слица (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · pt roca (part of a spinning wheel) · it rocchetto (part of a spinning wheel) · uk пря́слице (part of a spinning wheel) · ar عَرْنَاس (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · uk пря́сло (part of a spinning wheel) · sv tottaträ (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · sh пре̏слица (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · fa دشکی (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · ca filosa (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · nl rokken (part of a spinning wheel) · uk пря́сельце (part of a spinning wheel) · el ρόκα (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · non rokkr (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · ro furcă (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · el ηλακάτη (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · de Kunkel (part of a spinning wheel) · nl spinrokken (part of a spinning wheel) · bg ху́рка (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · nl spinstok (part of a spinning wheel) · scn cunòcchia (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · bg ху́рка (part of a spinning wheel) · arc ארנס (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · sh prȅslica (part of a spinning wheel) · tr öreke (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · pl kobieca praca (anything traditionally done by or considered of importance to women only) · uk пря́сниця (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · be прасніца (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · el ρόκα (part of a spinning wheel) · ru пря́слица (part of a spinning wheel) · sv rockhuvud (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · he כִּישׁוֹר (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · nl spinrokken (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · he כִּישׁוֹר (part of a spinning wheel) · ar رُكَّة (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · nv beeʼadizí (part of a spinning wheel) · fr quenouille (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · fo rokkur (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · grc ἠλακάτη (part of a spinning wheel) · fa دشکی (part of a spinning wheel) · arc עַרְנָסָא (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · de Spinnrocken (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · pa ਤੱਕਲ਼ੀ (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · de Wocken (part of a spinning wheel) · la colus (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · de Kunkel (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage) · ba ҡолға (device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage)
wikipedia: Raffaello Sorbi