Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - staff

 I. noun  (plural ~s or staves)  Etymology: Middle English staf, from Old English st?f; akin to Old High German stab ~, Sanskrit stabhnati he supports  Date: before 12th century  1.  a. a long stick carried in the hand for support in walking  b. a supporting rod: as  (1) archaic shaft 1a(1)  (2) a crosspiece in a ladder or chair ; rung  (3) flag~  (4) a pivoted arbor  c. club, cudgel  2.  a. crosier  b. a rod carried as a symbol of office or authority  3. the horizontal lines with their spaces on which music is written — called also stave  4. any of various graduated sticks or rules used for measuring ; rod  5. plural ~s  a. the officers chiefly responsible for the internal operations of an institution or business  b. a group of officers appointed to assist a civil executive or commanding officer  c. military or naval officers not eligible for operational command  d. the personnel who assist a director in carrying out an assigned task  e. plural ~ a member of a ~ employs three full-time ~  • ~ adjective  II. transitive verb  Date: 1859  1. to supply with a ~ or with workers  2. to serve as a ~ member of an organization ~ed by volunteers