Category:Distaff

Dis"taff, n.; pl. Distaffs, rarely Distaves. Etym: [OE. distaf, dysestafe, AS. distaef; cf. LG. diesse the bunch of flax on a distaff, and E. dizen. See Staff.]

1. The staff for holding a bunch of flax, tow, or wool, from which the thread is drawn in spinning by hand. I will the distaff hold; come thou and spin. Fairfax.

2. Used as a symbol of the holder of a distaff; hence, a woman; women, collectively. His crown usurped, a distaff on the throne. Dryden. Some say the crozier, some say the distaff was too busy. Howell.

Note: The plural is regular, but Distaves occurs in Beaumont & Fletcher. Descent by distaff, descent on the mother's side. -- Distaff Day, or Distaff's Day, the morrow of the Epiphany, that is, January 7, because working at the distaff was then resumed, after the Christmas festival; -- called also Rock Day, a distaff being called a rock. Shipley.

---excerpt from the Illustrated Bible Dictionary.

Distaff - (Heb. pelek, a "circle"), the instrument used for twisting threads by a whirl (Proverbs 31:19).