stave

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   one of the narrow strips of wood or metal fitted edge to edge to form a barrel or similar structure

   The cooper replaced a cracked stave before sealing the barrel.

2. 2
   verb

   to drive or thrust something away; in the phrase stave off, to prevent or delay something unwanted

   A strong pump may stave off flooding until the repair crew arrives.

3. 3
   verb

   to smash a hole in something or crush part of it inward

   The floating timber could stave in the side of a small boat.

4. 4
   noun

   British: a set of five horizontal lines on which musical notes are written

   The melody begins on the upper line of the stave.

Multiword verbs with stave

• stave off Phrasal verb C2

  to prevent or delay something harmful or unwanted

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Stave arose from staves, the Old English plural of staff, after the plural ending was dropped and the remaining form was treated as singular. It came to denote a wooden strip such as one used to make a barrel; its musical sense, referring to the lines of notation, dates from the early 19th century. The verb and stave off, literally suggesting defense with a staff, date from the early 17th century.

From Middle English stave, a back-formation from staves, the old plural of staff. The noun developed specialized senses for wooden slats and a musical staff; the verbs preserve ideas of striking, breaking, or driving something away with a staff or stave.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary