staff

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

Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

staff1

staff ¹

 (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).

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[Middle English staf, from Old English stæf.]

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staff ²

 (stăf)

n.

A building material of plaster and fiber used as an exterior wall covering of temporary buildings, as at expositions.

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[Perhaps from German Stoff, stuff.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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, etc

2. (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 students

4. (Military) the officers appointed to assist a commander, service, or central headquarters organization in establishing policy, plans, etc

5. a stick with some special use, such as a walking stick or an emblem of authority

6. something that sustains or supports: bread is the staff of life.

7. (Heraldry) a pole on which a flag is hung

8. (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 pitch

b. 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]

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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]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

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]

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

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.

Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

staff

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

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.

Staff

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

Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

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.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

staff

Past participle: staffed
Gerund: staffing

Imperative

staff

staff

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

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 laboratory sales staff - those in a business who are responsible for sales security staff - those in an organization responsible for preventing spying or theft maintenance staff, service staff - those in a business responsible for maintaining the physical plant general staff - military officers assigned to assist a senior officer in planning military policy headquarters staff - military staff stationed at headquarters staff 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 climbers baton - a short staff carried by some officials to symbolize an office or an authority shepherd's crook, crook - a long staff with one end being hook shaped crutch - a wooden or metal staff that fits under the armpit and reaches to the ground; used by disabled person while walking distaff - the staff on which wool or flax is wound before spinning flagpole, flagstaff - a tall staff or pole on which a flag is raised pikestaff - the staff of a pike quarterstaff - a long stout staff used as a weapon stick - 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" faculty body - 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 decoration building material - material used for constructing buildings
	5.	staff - a rod carried as a symbol symbol - an arbitrary sign (written or printed) that has acquired a conventional significance crosier, crozier - a staff surmounted by a crook or cross carried by bishops as a symbol of pastoral office mace - a ceremonial staff carried as a symbol of office or authority scepter, sceptre, verge, wand - a ceremonial or emblematic staff tipstaff - 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 written stave musical notation - (music) notation used by musicians staff line - any of the 5 horizontal marks comprising a staff space - 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"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

staff

noun

1. 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 lengths

verb

1. man, work, operate, crew, people They are staffed by volunteers.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

staff

noun

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

cane, stave, stick, walking stick.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

عَصَامَجْمُوعَةُ الـعَامِلِيـنهَيئَه، طاقَميُزَوِّد بالمُوَظَّفين

personálhůlnotová osnovaobsaditosnova

bemandenodearknodelinierpersonalestab

PersonalStabBelegschaftbesetzenNotensystem

προσωπικόσκυτάληπεντάγραμμο

personalbáculobastóndotaciónplantilla

henkilökuntasauvamiehittäänuottiviivastosalko

personnelportéestaffbâtoncanne

מקל

osoblještap

mannanótnastrengurstarfsliî

personalebastonelo stato maggiorepentagrammaprovvedere di personale

棒職員

지팡이직원

darbiniekinodrošināt personālu/štatunošu līnijaspersonālsštats

personeelstok

stabstangnoteplan

personelpięcioliniapałka

bastãobengalapautapessoalquadro de funcionários

персоналпосохштабштатпалка

notová osnovapersonál

osebje

personalstav

ไม้ค้ำ เสาค้ำ ไม้เท้าพนักงาน

personelpersonel sağlamakportesopaçalışanlar

cộtnhân viên

五线谱全体职员工作人员杆配备职员

staff

¹ [stɑːf]

A. N

1. (= personnel) → personal m, empleados mpl
the administrative staff → (el personal de) la administración
the teaching staff → el cuerpo docente, el profesorado
to be on the staff → ser de plantilla
to join the staff → entrar en la plantilla
to leave the staff → dimitir

2. (Mil) → estado m mayor

3. (o.f.) (= stick) → bastón m, vara f; (pilgrim's) → bordón m; (= symbol of authority) → bastón m de mando; (bishop's) → báculo m; [of flag, lance etc] → asta f

B. VT → proveer de personal
to be well staffed (fully staffed) → tener la plantilla completa; (with good workers) → tener un buen personal
the centre is staffed by qualified lawyers → el centro cuenta con abogados titulados en plantilla

C. CPD staff association N → asociación f del personal
staff canteen N → comedor m de personal
staff college N → escuela f militar superior
staff meeting N → reunión f de personal
staff nurse N → enfermero/a m/f titulado/a
staff officer N → oficial m del Estado Mayor
staff room N → sala f de profesores
staff-student ratio N → proporción f alumnos-profesor
staff training N → formación f de personal

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staff

² [stɑːf] N (staves, staff (pl)) (Mus) → pentagrama m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

staff

[ˈstɑːf]

n

(= workforce) → personnel m
one of the staff → un membre du personnel, un(e) employé(e)

(British) (SCHOOL) (= teachers) the staff → les professeurs mpl, les enseignants mpl, le personnel m enseignant
a member of staff → un membre du personnel enseignant

(= servants) their staff → leurs domestiques mpl

(MILITARY) → état-major m

(= stick) → bâton m

modif [accommodation, appraisal, canteen] → du personnel; [cuts, shortage] → de personnel

vt [+ shop, hospital, school, factory] → pourvoir en personnel
The centre is staffed at all times
BUT Il y a toujours quelqu'un qui travaille dans le centre.
The shop is staffed by volonteers
BUT Le magasin est tenu par des bénévoles.
to staff sth with sth
They staff the clinics with nurses → Ils ont pourvu les cliniques en infirmières.staff discount n → remise f pour le personnelstaff meeting n [teachers] → conseil m des professeursstaff nurse n → infirmier/ière m/fstaff officer n → officier m d'état-major

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

staff

n

(= personnel) → Personal nt; (Sch, Univ) → Kollegium nt, → Lehrkörper m (form); (of one department, on one project) → Mitarbeiterstab m; all the staff support this idea → die ganze Belegschaft or (Sch, Univ) → das ganze Kollegium unterstützt diesen Vorschlag; we have a large staff → wir haben viel Personal/ein großes Kollegium/einen großen Mitarbeiterstab; we don’t have enough staff to complete the project → wir haben nicht genügend Mitarbeiter, um das Projekt zu beenden; editorial staff → Redaktion f, → Redaktionsstab m; administrative staff → Verwaltungsstab m, → Verwaltungspersonal nt; a member of staff → ein Mitarbeiter m, → eine Mitarbeiterin; (Sch) → ein Kollege m, → eine Kollegin; my fellow members of staff → meine Kollegen; we have 30 women on the staff → bei uns sind 30 Frauen angestellt; to be on the staff → zum Personal/Kollegium/Mitarbeiterstab gehören; are you staff? (inf) → arbeiten Sie hier?; he joined the or our staff in 1996 → er arbeitet seit 1996 bei uns; he has left our staff → er arbeitet nicht mehr hier

pl <-s or (old) staves> (= stick, symbol of authority) → Stab m; (= flagstaff) → Stock m; (fig liter: = support) → Stütze f; staff of office → Amtsstab m; the staff of life → das wichtigste Nahrungsmittel

(Mil: = general staff) → Stab m

pl <staves> (Mus) → Notenlinien pl, → Notensystem nt

vt department → Mitarbeiter finden für; hospital, shop, hotel → mit Personal besetzen, Personal finden für; school → mit Lehrpersonal besetzen; the kitchens are staffed by foreigners → das Küchenpersonal besteht aus Ausländern

---

staff

:

staff association

n → ˜ Betriebsrat m

staff canteen

n → (Betriebs)kantine f

staff college

n → Generalstabsakademie f

---

staff

:

staff notation

n → Notenschrift f

staff nurse

n (Brit) → (voll)ausgebildete Krankenschwester, Vollschwester f (inf)

staff officer

n → Stabsoffizier(in) m(f)

staff problem

n → Personalproblem nt

staffroom

n → Lehrerzimmer nt

staff training

n → betriebliche Ausbildung

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

staff

[stɑːf]

1. n

a. (personnel, gen) → personale m; (servants) → personale di servizio (Mil) → Stato Maggiore
the administrative staff → il personale amministrativo
the teaching staff → il corpo insegnante
to be on the staff → far parte del personale or dell'organico
a staff of 15 → un personale or organico di 15 persone
to join the staff → entrare a far parte del personale
"staff only" → "passaggio di servizio"

b. (old) (stick) → bastone m (Rel) → bastone pastorale; (of flag) → asta

c. (Mus) (also stave) → pentagramma m, rigo

2. vt → fornire di personale
to be staffed by Asians/women → avere un personale asiatico/costituito da donne
to be well staffed → essere ben fornito/a di personale

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

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. personeel هَيئَه، طاقَم персонал pessoal sbor; štáb; personál das Personal stab; -stab προσωπικό personal كاركنان henkilöstö personnelסגל स्टाफ osoblje, zaposlenici személyzet; tanári kar staf starfslið/-menn personale 職員 직원 tarnautojai, personalas (vienas iestādes) darbinieki; personāls; štats kakitangan stafpersonale, stabpersonelpessoal staff, per­sonal штат; личныи состав zbor; personál osebje osoblje personal, stab คณะผู้ทำงาน personel, çalışanlar 全體職員 штат службовців; кадри عملہ nhân viên 全体职员

verb

to supply with staff. Most of our offices are staffed by volunteers. van personeel voorsien يُزَوِّد بالمُوَظَّفين снабдявам с персонал servir obsadit besetzen bemande επανδρώνω, στελεχώνω personaliga varustama, töökohti täitma كارمند گرفتن miehittää, hankkia henkilökuntaa pourvoir en personnel לאייש कर्मचारी रखना kadrovski popuniti, snabdjeti osobljem személyzettel ellát menyediakan staf manna (provvedere di personale) 職員を配置する (직원을) 배치하다 aprūpinti tarnautojais, sukomplektuoti kadrus nodrošināt personālu/štatu menyediakan kakitangan bemannenbemanne obsadzać servir a furniza personal укомплектовывать штат obsadiť oskrbeti z osebjem obezbediti osoblje bemanna จัดหาคณะทำงาน personel sağlamak 給...配備職員 укомплектовувати штати عملہ مہیا کرنا cung cấp cán bộ nhân viên cho 配备职员

ˈstaffroom noun

a sitting-room for the staff of eg a school. A meeting will be held in the staffroom. personeelkamer غُرْفَة الهَيئه стая за персонала sala de professores sborovna; ředitelna der Versammlungsraum lærerværelse αίθουσα καθηγητών personaliruum, õpetajate tuba دفتر opettajainhuone, sosiaalitilat salle des professeurs חֲדַר סֶגֶל कर्मचारी कक्ष zbornica tanári szoba ruang staf kennarastofa; setustofa starfsmanna sala dei professori 職員室 직원실 dėstytojų/mokytojų kambarys personāla telpa; skolotāju u.tml. istaba bilik kakitangan docentenkamerpersonalrom pomieszczenie wspólne (np. pokój nauczycielski) sala de professores cancelarie учительская zborovňa zbornica zbornica personalrum ห้องพักสำหรับคณะผู้ทำงาน öğretmenler odası (員工)休息室 учительська (кімната) عملے کے ارکان کا کمرہ phòng hội đồng （职工）休息室

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staff²

(staːf) stave (steiv) – plural staves – noun

a set of lines and spaces on which music is written or printed. balk سُطور مُتَوازِيَه لِكِتابَة النوتَه الموسيقِيَّه петолиние pauta notová osnova das Notensystem nodelinier; nodeark πεντάγραμμο noodijoonestik حامل nuottiviivasto portéeחמשה पांच समान्तर रेखाओं की संगति सारणी crtovlje a kotta öt vonala partitur nótnastrengur pentagramma 譜表 보표(譜表) penklinė nošu līnija[] baluk notenbalknoteplan; de fem notelinjene pięciolinia pauta portativ нотный стан notová osnova notno črtovje notne linije notplan, notsystem เส้นขวาง 5 เส้นที่ใช้เป็นโน้ตเพลง porte 五線譜 нотний стан لاءنوں اور خالی جگہوں کا مجموعہ جس پر موسیقی لکھی جاتی ہے khuông nhạc 五线谱

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

staff

→ عَصَا, مَجْمُوعَةُ الـعَامِلِيـن hůl, personál personale, stav Personal προσωπικό bastón, personal, plantilla henkilökunta, sauva bâton, personnel osoblje, štap bastone, personale 棒, 職員 지팡이, 직원 personeel, stok stab, stang pałka, personel bastão, quadro de funcionários палка, персонал personal, stav ไม้ค้ำ เสาค้ำ ไม้เท้า, พนักงาน personel, sopa cột, nhân viên 工作人员, 杆

Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

staff

n. personal de una institución.

English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

staff

n personal m; hospital — personal del hospital

English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.