Dis″taff (?), n.; pl.Distaffs (#), rarelyDistaves (#). [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.
☞ The plural is regular, but Distaves occurs in Beaumont & Fletcher.
Descent by distaff, descent on the mother's side. — Distaff Day, orDistaff'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.