distaff
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
distaff /ˈdɪstɑːf/
▶noun
- 1 a stick or spindle on to which wool or flax is wound for spinning.
- 2 [as modifier] denoting or concerning women: a family tree on the distaff side. Compare with spear (in sense 3).
– origin OE distæf: the first element is appar. rel. to Mid. Low Ger. dise, disene ‘distaff, bunch of flax’; the second is staff1.
'distaff' also found in these Oxford entries:
