staff

Pronunciation: /stɑːf/

The English word “staff” has 13 meanings listed here.

noun

A long, straight, thick wooden rod or stick, especially one used to assist in walking.
A series of horizontal lines on which musical notes are written; a stave.
People employed by a business or other organisation.
A mixture of plaster and fibre used as a temporary exterior wall covering.
A pole, stick, or wand borne as an ensign of authority; a badge of office.
A pole upon which a flag is supported and displayed.
The rung of a ladder.
A series of verses so disposed that, when it is concluded, the same order begins again; a stanza; a stave.
An arbor, as of a wheel or a pinion of a watch.
The grooved director for the gorget, or knife, used in cutting for stone in the bladder.
An establishment of officers in various departments attached to an army, to a section of an army, or to the commander of an army. The general's staff consists of those officers about his person who are employed in carrying his commands into execution.
A form of token once used, in combination with a ticket, for safe train movements between two points on a single line.

verb

To supply (a business, volunteer organization, etc.) with employees or staff members.

Etymology

From Middle English staf, from Old English stæf (“letter of the alphabet”), from Proto-West Germanic *stab, from Proto-Germanic *stabaz. Cognate with Dutch staf, German Stab, Danish stav, Swedish stav. Sense of "group of military officers that assists a commander" and similar meanings, attested from 1702, is influenced by or is even from German Stab.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.