Meaning & use
Distaffs
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Plural of "distaff," a staff or spindle used to hold flax, wool, or other fiber during hand spinning; also used figuratively to refer to women or the female side of a family.
See it in a sentence
The museum displayed antique distaffs once used by farm wives to spin wool into thread.
In old wills, property was sometimes divided between the "spear side" and the "distaff side" of the family.
A note on using this word
The figurative sense, "the distaff side," meaning the maternal or female line, comes from spinning traditionally being women's work.
Words with a similar meaning
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Another way to use it
2. noun
Figuratively, women collectively or the female side of a family.
The estate passed down through the distaff line for three generations.
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