Distaff
English Meaning
The staff for holding a bunch of flax, tow, or wool, from which the thread is drawn in spinning by hand.
- A staff that holds on its cleft end the unspun flax, wool, or tow from which thread is drawn in spinning by hand.
- An attachment for a spinning wheel that serves this purpose.
- Work and concerns traditionally considered important to women.
- Women considered as a group.