dI staef
noun
1. a staff with one cleft end to hold the material from which thread is drawn in spinning by hand or on a spinning wheel. She gently pulled more wool from the distaff and let it spin round on the spindle.
2. (old-fashioned) women as a whole, or the traditional sphere and concerns of women. He’d been in male company nearly all his life and had little knowledge of the distaff.
adjective
(old-fashioned) denoting, pertaining to, characteristic of, or fit for females. The gene is passed down on the distaff side of the family. Distaff members of the club have separate facilities.
