Emily Dickinson Lexicon
Definition for STAVE
STAVE, n. [from staff; Fr. douve, douvain. It has the first sound of a, as in save.]
- A thin, narrow piece of timber, of which casks are made. Staves make a considerable article of export from New England to the West Indies.
- A staff; a metrical portion; a part of a psalm appointed to be sung in churches.
- 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.
Return to page 254 of the letter “S”.