stave

STAVE, noun [from staff. It has the sound of a, as in save.] 1. A thin narrow piece of timber, of which casks are made. Staves make a considerable articles of export from New England to the West Indies. 2. A staff; a metrical portion; a part of a psalm appointed to be sung in churches. 3. In music, the five horizontal and parallel lines on which the notes of tunes are written or printed; the staff, as it is now more generally written. To stave and tail, to part dogs by interposing a staff and by pulling the tail. STAVE, verb transitive preterit tense stove or staved; participle passive id. 1. To break a hole in; to break; to burst; primarily, to thrust through with a staff; as, to stave a cask. 2. To push as with a staff; with off. The condition of a servant staves him off to a distance. 3. To delay; as, to stave off the execution of a project. 4. To pour out; to suffer to be lost by breaking the cask. All the wine in the city has been staved. 5. To furnish with staves or rundles. [Not in use.] STAVE, verb intransitive To fight with staves. [Not in use.]