stave

1 (music) the system of five horizontal lines on which the musical notes are written [syn: staff]

2 one of several thin slats of wood forming the sides of a barrel or bucket [syn: lag]

3 a crosspiece between the legs of a chair [syn: rung, round]

1 furnich with staves; "stave a ladder"

2 burst or force (a hole) into something [syn: stave in] [also: stove]

English

Etymology

, the plural of staff.

Pronunciation

• , /steɪv/, /steIv/
• Rhymes: -eɪv

Noun

1. One of a number of narrow strips of wood, or narrow iron plates, placed edge to edge to form the sides, covering, or lining of a vessel or structure; esp., one of the strips which form the sides of a cask, a pail, etc.
2. One of the bars or rounds of a rack, a ladder, etc; one of the cylindrical bars of a lantern wheel
3. A metrical portion; a stanza; a staff.
4. The five horizontal and parallel lines on and between which musical notes are written or pointed; the staff.

Translations

• German: Daube (1), Sprosse (2), Strophe (3), Vers (3), Notenlinien f|p (4)
• French: portée (4)

Verb

1. To break in the staves of; to break a hole in; to burst. Often with in.
2. To push, as with a staff. With off.
3. To delay by force; to drive away. Often with off.
4. To burst in pieces by striking against something.

Derived terms

• stave in
• stave off

Stave can refer to:

• Staff (music), a set of five horizontal lines and four spaces used in musical notation
• Stave church, a Medieval wooden church with post and beam construction prevalent in Norway
• The individual wood strips that form the sides of a barrel
• A stick or staff

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