Search results for 'stave':

stave noun 1 any of the vertical wooden strips that are joined together to form a barrel, tub, boat hull, etc. 2 any bar, rod, shaft, etc, especially a wooden one, eg a rung on a ladder. 3 music a staff (noun 5). 4 a verse of a poem or song. verb (staved or stove , staving) 1 (often stave in) a to smash (a hole, etc in something) • The door was staved in; b to break (a stave or the staves of a barrel or boat). 2 (in this sense past tense only staved) (often stave off) a to delay the onset of something • tried to stave off his downfall by calling an election; b to ward off something • staved her hunger with an apple. 3 to fit or repair with staves. 4 Scot to accidently bend back (a finger or toe) and injure the joint at its base • staved my finger playing netball.
ETYMOLOGY: 14c: a back-formation from staves, a plural of staff.