DISTAFF

Distaff. Distaff
(Heb. pelek, a “circle”), the instrument used for twisting threads by a whirl (Prov. 31:19).

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DISTAFF. → General scriptures concerning Pr 31:19

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Ex 35:25; Pr 31:19

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distaff. Distaff, n. a staff used in spinning, a woman

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Dis″taff (?), n.; pl. Distaffs (#), rarely Distaves (#). [[OE. distaf, dysestafe, AS. distaef; cf. LG. diesse the bunch of flax on a distaff, and E. dizen. See Staff.]] 1. 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. 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. ☞ 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.