Meaning

noun the sphere of work by women

noun the staff on which wool or flax is wound before spinning

adjective characteristic of or peculiar to a woman

originFrom Middle English distaf (“distaff”), from Old English distæf (“distaff”), from *dis- (“bunch of flax”) (cognate with Middle Low German dise (“bunch of flax on a distaff”)) + stæf (“staff”) (from Proto-Germanic *stabaz (“staff, stick”), from Proto-Indo-European *stebʰ-). Senses 3 and 5 (“anything traditionally done by or considered of importance to women only”; “a woman, or women considered as…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0