Staff Means a Stick, and Employees Took the Name
A staff is a long stick, a body of employees, and the lines of musical notation. All three come from the same word.
A staff is a long stick, a body of employees, or the set of lines on which music is written. The employee sense came through the military: a commander's *staff* were the officers who supported him, named from the staff of office he carried as a symbol of authority. Civilian organisations borrowed the term wholesale. The musical staff is named for its appearance, five parallel lines like the rungs of a ladder. Note the plurals: *staffs* for groups, *staves* for sticks and music.
- A long stick. *A wooden staff.*
- Employees. *The teaching staff.*
- Musical lines. *The treble staff.*
- Staves — the plural for sticks. *Staves.*
- Old English — *stæf*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | staff | A staff. |
| Plural (people) | staffs | Two staffs. |
| Plural (sticks) | staves | Staves. |
| Verb | staff | Staff the desk. |
| Old English | stæf | A stick. |
- The shepherd leaned on his staff.Stick.
- All staff must attend.Employees.
- Write it on the treble staff.Music.
Staff of office
- A carried staff signalled authority in many cultures
- Military staff officers took the name from the commander's staff
- Chief of staff — the senior officer supporting a commander
- Black Rod — a British parliamentary office named for its staff
- Crozier — a bishop's staff, shaped like a shepherd's crook
Old English *stæf*, a walking stick or rod, of Germanic origin.
Why are employees called staff?
From military usage: the officers supporting a commander were his staff, named for the staff of office he carried.
Staffs or staves?
Staffs for groups of people, staves for sticks and for musical staves. Both are correct in their own sense.