Emily Dickinson Lexicon

STAVE, v.t. [pret. stove or staved; pp. id.]

1. To break a hole in; to break; to burst; primarily, to thrust through with a staff; as, to stave a cask. – Mar. Dict.
2. To push, as with a staff; with off. The condition of a servant staves him off to a distance. – South.
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. – Sandys.
5. To furnish with staves or rundles. [Not in use.] – Knolles.