staff

a pole or stick; personnel: The entire staff will attend the conference.
Not to be confused with:staph – staphylococcus, a parasitic bacteria: a staph infection

staff1

staff¹

S0692800 (stăf)n. pl. staffs or staves (stāvz) 1. a. A stick or cane carried as an aid in walking or climbing.b. A stout stick used as a weapon; a cudgel.c. A pole on which a flag is displayed; a flagstaff.d. A rod or baton carried as a symbol of authority.2. pl. staffs A rule or similar graduated stick used for testing or measuring, as in surveying.3. pl. staffs a. A group of assistants to a manager, executive, or other person in authority.b. A group of military officers assigned to assist a commanding officer in an executive or advisory capacity.c. The personnel who carry out a specific enterprise: the nursing staff of a hospital.4. Something that serves as a staple or support.5. Music A set of horizontal lines and intermediate spaces used in notation to represent a sequence of pitches, in modern notation normally consisting of five lines and four spaces. Also called stave.tr.v. staffed, staff·ing, staffs 1. To provide with a staff of workers or assistants.2. To serve on the staff of (an organization).

[Middle English staf, from Old English stæf.]

staff²

S0692800 (stăf)n. A building material of plaster and fiber used as an exterior wall covering of temporary buildings, as at expositions.

[Perhaps from German Stoff, stuff.]

staff

(stɑːf) n, pl staffs, pl staffs or staves (steɪvz) 1. (Professions) a group of people employed by a company, individual, etc, for executive, clerical, sales work, etc2. (Industrial Relations & HR Terms) (modifier) attached to or provided for the staff of an establishment: a staff doctor. 3. (Education) the body of teachers or lecturers of an educational institution, as distinct from the students4. (Military) the officers appointed to assist a commander, service, or central headquarters organization in establishing policy, plans, etc5. a stick with some special use, such as a walking stick or an emblem of authority6. something that sustains or supports: bread is the staff of life. 7. (Heraldry) a pole on which a flag is hung8. (Surveying) chiefly Brit a graduated rod used in surveying, esp for sighting to with a levelling instrument. Usual US name: rod 9. (Music, other) music a. the system of horizontal lines grouped into sets of five (four in the case of plainsong) upon which music is written. The spaces between them are also used, being employed in conjunction with a clef in order to give a graphic indication of pitchb. any set of five lines in this system together with its clef: the treble staff. vb (tr) to provide with a staff[Old English stæf; related to Old Frisian stef, Old Saxon staf, German Stab, Old Norse stafr, Gothic Stafs; see stave]

staff

(stɑːf) n (Building) US a mixture of plaster and hair used to cover the external surface of temporary structures and for decoration[C19: of unknown origin]

staff¹

(stæf, stɑf)

n., pl. staffs for 1-4,8; staves (stāvz) or staffs for 5-7,9,10; n. 1. a group of people, esp. employees, who carry out the work of an establishment or perform a specific function. 2. a group of assistants to a manager, superintendent, or executive. 3. a. a body of military officers appointed to assist a commanding officer. b. the parts of an army concerned with administration rather than combat. 4. a stick, pole, or rod for aid in walking or climbing, for use as a weapon, etc. 5. a rod serving as a symbol of office or authority. 6. a pole on which a flag is hung or displayed. 7. something that supports or sustains. 8. Also, stave. a set of usu. five horizontal lines, with the corresponding four spaces between them, on which music is written. 9. Archaic. the shaft of a spear, lance, etc. adj. 10. of or pertaining to a military or organizational staff. 11. employed on the staff of a corporation, publication, institution, etc.: a staff writer. v.t. 12. to provide with a staff of assistants or workers. 13. to serve on the staff of. 14. to send to a staff for study or further work (often fol. by out). [before 900; Old English stæf, c. Old Frisian stef, Old Saxon staf, Old High German stap, Old Norse stafr staff] usage: See collective noun.

staff²

(stæf, stɑf)

n. a composition of plaster and fibrous material used for a temporary finish and in ornamental work, as on exposition buildings. [1890–95, Amer.; perhaps < German Stoff stuff]

staff

baguette - Means "little rod" and is derived from Latin baculum, "staff, stick."
dough - As in money, it almost certainly came from bread (another slang term for it), because bread is the staff of life.
staff - From Germanic stabaz, "stick"; its sense as "employees" is probably an allusion to the carrying of a staff of office by a person in charge.
miter, mitre, crosier - The tall, pointy hat of a bishop or abbot is the miter/mitre—from Greek mitra, "headdress"; a crosier is a bishop's staff.

staff

See: multinational staff; general staff; integrated staff; joint staff; parallel staff; special staff.

Staff

Examples: staff of cocks (two), 1688; of hawks (three), 1688; of nurses; of officers; of servants—Brewer; of teasels, 1794.

staff

The people who work for an organization can be referred to as its staff.

She was invited to join the staff of the BBC.The police questioned all the hospital staff.

In British English, you can use a plural or singular form of a verb after staff. The plural form is more common.

The staff are very helpful.The teaching staff is well-qualified and experienced.

In American English, staff is usually followed by a singular form.

The hotel staff was friendly.Our staff gets bigger every year.

Be Careful!
Don't refer to an individual person who works for an organization as 'a staff'. Refer to him or her as a member of staff.

There are ten students to every member of staff.All members of staff are expected to attend meetings.

staff

Past participle: staffed
Gerund: staffing

Imperative
staff
staff

Present
I staff
you staff
he/she/it staffs
we staff
you staff
they staff

Preterite
I staffed
you staffed
he/she/it staffed
we staffed
you staffed
they staffed

Present Continuous
I am staffing
you are staffing
he/she/it is staffing
we are staffing
you are staffing
they are staffing

Present Perfect
I have staffed
you have staffed
he/she/it has staffed
we have staffed
you have staffed
they have staffed

Past Continuous
I was staffing
you were staffing
he/she/it was staffing
we were staffing
you were staffing
they were staffing

Past Perfect
I had staffed
you had staffed
he/she/it had staffed
we had staffed
you had staffed
they had staffed

Future
I will staff
you will staff
he/she/it will staff
we will staff
you will staff
they will staff

Future Perfect
I will have staffed
you will have staffed
he/she/it will have staffed
we will have staffed
you will have staffed
they will have staffed

Future Continuous
I will be staffing
you will be staffing
he/she/it will be staffing
we will be staffing
you will be staffing
they will be staffing

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been staffing
you have been staffing
he/she/it has been staffing
we have been staffing
you have been staffing
they have been staffing

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been staffing
you will have been staffing
he/she/it will have been staffing
we will have been staffing
you will have been staffing
they will have been staffing

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been staffing
you had been staffing
he/she/it had been staffing
we had been staffing
you had been staffing
they had been staffing

Conditional
I would staff
you would staff
he/she/it would staff
we would staff
you would staff
they would staff

Past Conditional
I would have staffed
you would have staffed
he/she/it would have staffed
we would have staffed
you would have staffed
they would have staffed

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	staff - personnel who assist their superior in carrying out an assigned task; "the hospital has an excellent nursing staff"; "the general relied on his staff to make routine decisions"newsroom - the staff of a newspaper or the news department of a periodical; "every newspaper editor is criticized by the newsroom"personnel, force - group of people willing to obey orders; "a public force is necessary to give security to the rights of citizens"office staff, office - professional or clerical workers in an office; "the whole office was late the morning of the blizzard"research staff - a group of associated research workers in a university or library or laboratorysales staff - those in a business who are responsible for salessecurity staff - those in an organization responsible for preventing spying or theftmaintenance staff, service staff - those in a business responsible for maintaining the physical plantgeneral staff - military officers assigned to assist a senior officer in planning military policyheadquarters staff - military staff stationed at headquartersstaff member, staffer - an employee who is a member of a staff of workers (especially a member of the staff that works for the President of the United States)
	2.	staff - a strong rod or stick with a specialized utilitarian purpose; "he walked with the help of a wooden staff"alpenstock - a stout staff with a metal point; used by mountain climbersbaton - a short staff carried by some officials to symbolize an office or an authorityshepherd's crook, crook - a long staff with one end being hook shapedcrutch - a wooden or metal staff that fits under the armpit and reaches to the ground; used by disabled person while walkingdistaff - the staff on which wool or flax is wound before spinningflagpole, flagstaff - a tall staff or pole on which a flag is raisedpikestaff - the staff of a pikequarterstaff - a long stout staff used as a weaponstick - an implement consisting of a length of wood; "he collected dry sticks for a campfire"; "the kid had a candied apple on a stick"
	3.	staff - the body of teachers and administrators at a school; "the dean addressed the letter to the entire staff of the university"facultybody - a group of persons associated by some common tie or occupation and regarded as an entity; "the whole body filed out of the auditorium"; "the student body"; "administrative body"school - an educational institution; "the school was founded in 1900"prof, professor - someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
	4.	staff - building material consisting of plaster and hair; used to cover external surfaces of temporary structure (as at an exposition) or for decorationbuilding material - material used for constructing buildings
	5.	staff - a rod carried as a symbolsymbol - an arbitrary sign (written or printed) that has acquired a conventional significancecrosier, crozier - a staff surmounted by a crook or cross carried by bishops as a symbol of pastoral officemace - a ceremonial staff carried as a symbol of office or authorityscepter, sceptre, verge, wand - a ceremonial or emblematic stafftipstaff - staff with a metal tip carried as a sign of office by e.g. a bailiff or constable
	6.	staff - (music) the system of five horizontal lines on which the musical notes are writtenstavemusical notation - (music) notation used by musiciansstaff line - any of the 5 horizontal marks comprising a staffspace - one of the areas between or below or above the lines of a musical staff; "the spaces are the notes F-A-C-E"music - an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner
Verb	1.	staff - provide with staff; "This position is not always staffed"man - provide with workers; "We cannot man all the desks"; "Students were manning the booths"cater, ply, provide, supply - give what is desired or needed, especially support, food or sustenance; "The hostess provided lunch for all the guests"
	2.	staff - serve on the staff of; "The two men staff the reception desk"serve - do duty or hold offices; serve in a specific function; "He served as head of the department for three years"; "She served in Congress for two terms"

staff

noun1. workers, employees, personnel, workforce, team, organization The staff were very good.2. stick, pole, rod, prop, crook, cane, stave, wand, sceptre We carried a staff that was notched at various lengthsverb1. man, work, operate, crew, people They are staffed by volunteers.

staff

nounA fairly long straight piece of solid material used especially as a support in walking:cane, stave, stick, walking stick.

Translations

五线谱全体职员工作人员杆配备职员

staff¹

(staːf) noun or noun plural a group of people employed in running a business, school etc. The school has a large teaching staff; The staff are annoyed about the changes.全体职员 verb to supply with staff. Most of our offices are staffed by volunteers.配备职员ˈstaffroom noun a sitting-room for the staff of eg a school. A meeting will be held in the staffroom. （职工）休息室

staff²

(staːf) stave (steiv) – plural staves – noun a set of lines and spaces on which music is written or printed. 五线谱

staff

→ 工作人员zhCN, 杆zhCN

staff

staff,

in musical notation, a set of horizontal lines upon and between which notes are written so as to determine their relative pitch, and in connection with a clef, their absolute pitch. Staffs with several lines survive from the late 9th cent., the lines denoting only pitches. In early attempts at the notation of plainsong, a single line was drawn, with neumes placed above and below it, giving a rough idea of the relative pitches of the tones. Guido d'Arezzo, in the 11th cent., used several lines and put letters on certain of them to indicate their pitch, thus foreshadowing the use of the clef (see musical notationmusical notation,
symbols used to make a written record of musical sounds.

Two different systems of letters were used to write down the instrumental and the vocal music of ancient Greece. In his five textbooks on music theory Boethius (c.A.D. 470–A.D.
..... Click the link for more information. ). Four-line staffs proved adequate for plainsong notation and are still employed for that purpose. In 16th-century keyboard music, staffs of six or seven lines were often employed, but later the five-line staff, with ledger lines for pitches outside the range provided for by the staff, became conventional.

Staff

Ornamental plastering, made in molds and reinforced with fiber, usually nailed or wired into place.

Staff

(religion, spiritualism, and occult)

The staff is one of the "working tools" of Scottish Witchcraft (PectiWita). The Gaelic term for a magical staff is an luirgean or an lorg ohn. Scottish Witches use the staff in much the same way as others use a sword, wand, and/or athamé, casting a circle with it and also directing energy with it. Oak, yew, walnut, and ash are favorite woods used.

Other Witches also use staffs, some for circle casting but most as a purely personal tool. Many Wiccan elders have a staff as an unofficial sign of their status. In the old days trees were revered, and carrying a staff of such a tree signified authority and power. It is a version of the old rod of power, which manifested as a royal scepter and can also be seen as a bishop's crozier, a mace, a baton, and in many other forms. Traditionally fairies carried staffs, some tipped with crystals or pine cones, symbolizing the organ of generation.

Staff

the chief body responsible for troop command and control. There are combined-arms staffs, staffs for the combat arms and services, and staffs for the individual branches of the armed forces.

The most important missions of the staff are to maintain troops and command bodies in combat readiness; to collect, study, process, and assess situation data and to report operational and tactical estimates and proposals to the commander to enable him to make decisions during the planning of battles and operations and in the course of combat; to plan the battle or operation, delivering missions to the troops and organizing troop command and control, cooperation, and comprehensive support; to regulate the everyday life, training, and indoctrination of military personnel; and to maintain firm discipline, military order, and organization. The staff does its work on the basis of the commander’s decisions and the orders of the higher-ranking staff. The staff is headed by the chief of staff, who is the first deputy commander and who has the right to give orders to subordinate troops in the commander’s name.

The armies of the slaveholding and feudal states (until the 16th century) were comparatively small and waged battle in relatively small areas, so that the leader or commander saw the field of battle and did not need a special body, or staff, for command and control of his troops. With the formation of standing national armies in Europe between the late 16th century and the early 18th century, the growth in the size of the armies, and improvements in troop organization, the functions of command and control of troops became more complex; it became necessary, for example, to establish special quartermaster positions in charge of troop movement, billeting, and the compilation of plans and maps. The needs to be met by the general staff, therefore, gradually emerged. Commanders had adjutants who were used to command and control troops. With the appearance of mass armies in the late 18th century and an increase in the scale and duration of military operations, it became necessary to establish special bodies among the armies for command and control of large and smaller units. These bodies, which facilitated the commander’s work, were the staffs. In 1792 the General Quartermaster Department in France was renamed the Main Staff of the army. In the early 19th century a main staff, staffs of armies and corps, and later staffs of divisions were established in Russia. By this time the staffs were already being given considerable authority and acted as bodies to ensure that the commander’s plans were carried out.

By the late 19th century and the early 20th century, staffs in the armies of most countries had permanent tables of organization and the functions of their personnel were clearly defined. Various types of technical equipment, such as the telegraph, telephone, and radio, were used for command and control of troops. At the start of World War I, staffs of fronts were formed in the Russian Army and staffs of army groups were established in the armed forces of Germany, France, and, during the war, Great Britain. The Russian staffs of fronts and armies consisted of the directorate of the quartermaster general, who had authority over the operational, intelligence, military topography, and other sections, and the directorate of the duty general, who had authority over the inspection, general, printing, and other sections. The staff of a division included a senior adjutant of the general staff and a senior adjutant (a regimental adjutant in a regiment) who managed operational affairs, intelligence, and matters pertaining to drill and inspections. The staffs of divisions and regiments also included chiefs of communications and administrative affairs, a weapons officer, commandants and quartermasters, a senior doctor, and others.

The modern staff structure took shape in the period between the two world wars, and staffs were supplied with more advanced means of communication and transportation and with reconnaissance forces and equipment. The Staff Manual was developed in the Red Army. The staff was elaborated further during World War II. In the Red Army the staffs of fronts, armies, corps, divisions, and regiments consisted of the operational, reconnaissance, and other directorates or sections; battalion staffs comprised several officers. There were also staffs of the combat arms and services. A system of control points (command, observation, rear, and other posts) was established during offensive operations using staff forces and means to command and control troops. Experience was gained in collecting and processing situation data; organizing and supporting reliable communication with troops; carrying on cooperative operations; coordinating work among combined-armed staffs, the staffs of combat arms and services, and other command and control bodies; and setting up command and control points and moving them behind the troops during the battle or operation. In 1942 the new Field Service Manual for Staffs of the Red Army was published.

After the war the following general structure took shape in the Soviet armed forces: the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR; main staffs of the branches of the armed forces; the Staff of the Rear Services of the Armed Forces; the Civil Defense staff; and staffs of the chiefs of the combat arms and services and of special forces. There are also troop staffs in formations, large units, units, and subunits. Similar staffs exist in the armed forces of foreign countries. The unified armed forces of NATO have established a unified staff, and the unified armed forces of the Warsaw Pact of 1955 have a staff of the unified armed forces of these countries. There are also various other large staffs and staffs of formations, large units, and units that differ in composition. For example, in the. armed forces of the United States the staff of an infantry division and the headquarters company included within it comprise 102 men; the staffs of mechanized and armored divisions each have 115 men. The command staff of all types of divisions in the US ground forces includes a headquarters section and sections for personnel, intelligence, operations and combat training, logistics, civilian affairs, adjutant general, army aviation, field artillery, antiaircraft artillery, signal troops, engineer troops, the chemical, financial, medical, transport, and meteorological services, the commandant’s office, military police, and chaplains.

With the adoption of nuclear weapons by the armed forces of various countries in the 1950’s and 1960’s and with the introduction of electronic equipment and full motorization and mechanization of troops, the functions of staffs became more diverse and important and their working conditions grew more complex. In the most advanced armies of today, staffs are incorporating a new technical base, setting up automated command and control systems that include computers and high-speed and secret communications equipment. Scientific methods of work for all bodies involved in troop command and control are being introduced and incorporated.

I. S. LIAPUNOV

Staff

the full complement of properly approved employees’ positions in an enterprise, institution, or organization.

In the USSR, the positions that make up an administrative staff are determined in accordance with the Model Branch Structure approved for enterprises, institutions, and organizations. A staff schedule sets forth an administrative framework, job titles, the number of staff members for each position, and salaries and pay supplements. The classification of employees as administrative personnel is carried out in accordance with the official job titles adopted by the Central Statistical Board of the USSR. The managers of enterprises, construction administrations or sites, territorial geological administrations, and certain other organizations have the right to approve and make changes in the administrative personnel within limits established for labor (centrally determined plan targets for labor) and administrative expenditures. The Ministry of Finance of the USSR decides which enterprises, institutions, and organizations belong to a particular wage category and monitors compliance with staff finance discipline (seeDISCIPLINE, STATE). The staff, official salaries, and estimated administrative expenditures approved by the manager of an enterprise need not be registered at financial agencies.

L. N. KACHALINA

cast, staff

In plastering, a shape, usually decorative, made in a mold and then fastened in place.

staff

1. Ornamental plastering, made in molds and reinforced with fiber; usually nailed or wired into place. 2. An exterior wall covering resembling stucco, used on temporary buildings. 3. A staff bead.4. A piece used to close the joint between a wooden frame, as a window or door frame, and the masonry in which it is set.

staff

symbolic of a courier on a mission. [Christian Symbolism: Appleton, 4]See: Messenger

staff

1. the body of teachers or lecturers of an educational institution, as distinct from the students 2. Musica. the system of horizontal lines grouped into sets of five (four in the case of plainsong) upon which music is written. The spaces between them are also used, being employed in conjunction with a clef in order to give a graphic indication of pitch b. any set of five lines in this system together with its clef

staff

staff

staff 1

staff 2

staff

staff

staff1

staff2

staff

staff

Staff

staff

staff

staff

staff

staff1

staff2

staff

staff

at half-mast

bread is the staff of life

the staff of life

at half-mast

Bread is the staff of life.

at half-mast

staff of life

a skeleton ˈcrew/ˈstaff/ˈservice

the ˌstaff of ˈlife

staff of life, the

staff

staff,

Staff

Staff

Staff

Staff

cast, staff

staff

staff

staff

staff

staff

staff

staff

staff

staff

STAFF

staff

Synonyms for staff

noun workers

Synonyms

noun stick

Synonyms

verb man

Synonyms

Synonyms for staff

noun a fairly long straight piece of solid material used especially as a support in walking

Synonyms

Synonyms for staff

noun personnel who assist their superior in carrying out an assigned task

Related Words

noun a strong rod or stick with a specialized utilitarian purpose

Related Words

noun the body of teachers and administrators at a school

Synonyms

Related Words

noun building material consisting of plaster and hair

Related Words

noun a rod carried as a symbol

Related Words

noun (music) the system of five horizontal lines on which the musical notes are written

Synonyms

Related Words

verb provide with staff

Related Words

verb serve on the staff of

Related Words

staff¹

staff²

staff¹

staff²

staff¹

staff²