Noun: quarterstaff
| Singular | quarterstaff |
| Plural | quarterstaffs; quarterstaves |
Sample Sentences
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Name my accuſer ſaith he, or I defye thee Kemp at the quart ſtaffe. [1600, William Kempe, Kemps nine daies vvonder:]
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[F]ew country people there are who do not love to see two sturdy fellows thwack and belabour each other with quarter-staff, single-stick, or fists. [1881, Walter Besant, James Rice, “How Kitty First Saw the Doctor”, in The Chaplain of the Fleet […], volume I, London: Chatto and Windus, […], →OCLC, part I (Within the Rules), page 82:]
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He was very adept at quarterstaff.
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First, several couples stood forth at quarterstaff, and so shrewd were they at the game, and so quickly did they give stroke and parry, that […] [1883, Howard Pyle, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood […], New York, N.Y.: […] Charles Scribner’s Sons […], →OCLC:]
Nouns inflected like quarterstaff
cantoral staff,
leveling staff,
backstaff,
quarterstaff,
pikestaff,
distaff,
vine staff,
cowlstaff,
ragged staff,
packstaff,
vine-staff,
runestaff,
handstaff,
station staff,
Jeddart staff,
bedstaff,
Jedburgh staff,
flag-staff,
treble staff,
flag staff, etc. (List truncated at 20 nouns)
Etymology
From quarter + staff, attested since about 1550. Probably originally referred to a staff cut from the heartwood of a certain size of tree which was cleft into four parts, per the OED.