Word of the Day

: March 13, 2008

distaff

adjective DISS-taff

What It Means

1 a : related through a mother

b : inherited or derived from the female parent

2 : female

distaff in Context

The Solheim Cup pits America's best distaff golfers against the top European women.

Did You Know?

A distaff was originally a short staff that held a bundle of fibers -- of flax or wool, for example -- ready to be spun into yarn or thread. Since spinning was a basic daily task customarily done by women, the distaff came to be the symbol for the work or domain of women. This symbolic use of the noun "distaff" dates back to the time of Chaucer and is found in several works by Shakespeare. Eventually "distaff" came to be used for the female branch of a family and then as an adjective, as in "the distaff side of the family."

*Indicates the sense illustrated by the example sentence.