| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| distaff |
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| SYLLABICATION: | dis·taff |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  d s t f |
| NOUN: | 1a. A staff that holds on its cleft end the unspun flax, wool, or tow from which thread is drawn in spinning by hand. b. An attachment for a spinning wheel that serves this purpose. 2. Work and concerns traditionally considered important to women. 3. Women considered as a group. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English distaf, from Old English distæf : dis-, bunch of flax + stæf, staff.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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