2. A stick carried in the hand for support or defense by a person walking; hence, a support; that which props or upholds. "Hooked staves." Piers Plowman. The boy was the very staff of my age. Shak. 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. Prof. Wilson.
3. A pole, stick, or wand borne as an ensign of authority; a badge of office; as, a constable's staff. Methought this staff, mine office badge in court, Was broke in twain. Shak. All his officers brake their staves; but at their return new staves were delivered unto them. Hayward.
4. A pole upon which a flag is supported and displayed.
5. The round of a ladder. [R.] I ascend at one [ladder] of six hundred and thirty-nine staves. Dr. J. Campbell (E. Brown's Travels).
6. A series of verses so disposed that, when it is concluded, the same order begins again; a stanza; a stave. Cowley found out that no kind of staff is proper for an heroic poem, as being all too lyrical. Dryden.
7. (Mus.)
Defn: The five lines and the spaces on which music is written; — formerly called stave.
8. (Mech.)
Defn: An arbor, as of a wheel or a pinion of a watch.
9. (Surg.)