distaff
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distaff
- /ˈdɪstɑːf/ UK
- /ˈdɪstæf/ US
Where it comes from
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.
noun distaffs · distaves · distaffe
- 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. 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.
- The part of a spinning wheel from which fibre is drawn to be spun.
- Anything traditionally done by or considered of importance to women only.
- A race for female horses only.
- A woman, or women considered as a group. 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,
adjective
- 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.
- 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.
Translations
Every language
noun device to which fibres are attached for temporary storage
| Español | rueca |
|---|---|
| Português | roca |
| Français | quenouille |
| Deutsch | Rocken, Spinnrocken, Wocken |
| Italiano | conocchia, rocca |
| Ελληνικά | ρόκα róka, ηλακάτη ilakáti |
| Română | furcă |
| Русский | пря́слица prjáslica, пря́слице prjáslice |
| العربية | عَرْنَاس ʕarnās, رُكَّة rukka |
| עברית | כִּישׁוֹר kishór |
noun part of a spinning wheel
| Español | rueca |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 糸巻き棒 itomakibou |
| 中文 | 卷线杆 |
| Português | roca |
| Français | quenouille |
| Deutsch | Rocken, Spinnrocken, Wocken |
| Italiano | rocchetto, conocchia |
| Ελληνικά | ρόκα róka |
| Русский | пря́слица prjáslica, пря́слице prjáslice |
| עברית | כִּישׁוֹר kishór |
noun anything traditionally done by or considered of importance to women only
| 日本語 | 女性の仕事 josei no shigoto |
|---|---|
| עברית | פֶּלֶךְ pélech |
noun women considered as a group
| עברית | פֶּלֶךְ pélech |
|---|
Talk about this word "distaff." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/distaff. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. distaff. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/distaff "distaff." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/distaff.Cite this
@misc{distaff_2026,
title = {distaff},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/distaff},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
