Distaff

Distaff
Queen Berthe instructing girls to spin flax on spindles using distaffs, Albert Anker, 1888
A distaff and a spindle

As a noun, a distaff (pronounced /ˈdɪstɑːf/, also called a rock[1]) is a tool used in spinning. It is designed to hold the unspun fibers, keeping them untangled and thus easing the spinning process. It is most commonly used to hold flax, and sometimes wool, but can be used for any type of fiber. Fiber is wrapped around the distaff, and tied in place with a piece of ribbon or string. The word comes from dis in Low German, meaning a bunch of flax, connected with staff. As an adjective the term distaff is used to describe the female side of a family.

Contents

Form

Alsatian spinner with wheel and distaff
Spinner with spindle and distaff
Russian distaffs displayed at the museum of folk handicrafts at Ferapontov Monastery

In Western Europe, there were two common forms of distaffs, depending on the spinning method. The traditional form is a staff, held under one's arm while using a spindle. It is about 3 feet (0.9 m) long, held under the left arm, with the left hand drawing the fibers from it.[1] This version is the older of the two, as spindle spinning predates spinning on a wheel.

A distaff can also be mounted as an attachment to a spinning wheel. On a wheel it is placed next to the bobbin, where it is in easy reach of the spinner. This version is shorter, but otherwise doesn't differ from the spindle version.

By contrast, the traditional Russian distaff, used both with spinning wheels and spindles, is L-shaped, and consists of a horizontal board, known as the dontse (Russian: донце), and a flat vertical piece, frequently oar-shaped, to the inner side of which the bundle of fibers was tied or pinned. The spinner sat on the dontse with the vertical piece of the distaff to her left, and drew the fibers out with her left hand. The distaff was often richly carved and painted, and was an important element of Russian folk art.[2]

Recently handspinners have begun using wrist-distaffs to hold their fiber; these are made of flexible material such as braided yarn, and can swing freely from the wrist. They generally consist of a loop with a tail, at the end of which is a tassel, often with beads on each strand. The spinner wraps the roving or tow around the tail and through the loop to keep it out of the way, and to keep it from getting snarled.

Dressing a distaff

Dressing a distaff is the act of wrapping the fiber around the distaff. With flax, the wrapping is done by laying the flax fibers down, approximately parallel to each other and the distaff, then carefully rolling the fibers onto the distaff. A ribbon or string is then tied at the top, and loosely wrapped around the fibers to keep them in place.

Other meanings

Spinning flax from a distaff

The term distaff is also used as an adjective and is used as a descriptor for the female branch of a family[3] (e.g., the "distaff side" of a person's family refers to the person's mother and her blood relatives). This term developed in the English-speaking communities where a distaff spinning tool was used often to symbolize domestic life. The term distaff has fallen largely into disuse in recent times, and its antonyms of sword and spear to describe a male grouping are even more obscure.

One still recognized use of the term is in horse racing, in which races limited to female horses are referred to as distaff races. From 1984 until 2007 at the American Breeders' Cup World Championships, the major race for fillies and mares was the Breeders' Cup Distaff (beginning in 2008, the event is referred to as the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic). It is commonly regarded as the female analog to the better-known Breeders' Cup Classic, though female horses are not barred from entering that race.

The Women's division of the mixed-martial-arts organization EXC (Elite Xtreme Combat) is known as the "Distaff Division".

In Norse mythology, the goddess Frigg spins clouds from her bejeweled distaff in the Norse constellation known as Frigg's Spinning Wheel.

In the video game Loom by Lucasfilm Games (1990), the Weavers' Guild and the main character, Bobbin Threadbare, use distaffs to "weave the very fabric of reality";[4] the effects of this weaving are very similar to magic.

References

  1. ^ a b "Rock." The Oxford English Dictionay. 2nd ed. 1989.
  2. ^ "Украшение прялок [Distaff decoration]" (in Russian). narodko.ru. http://www.narodko.ru/article/tkach/pryalka/art.htm. Retrieved 2 December 2010. 
  3. ^ Distaff Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Retrieved on 2008-07-22
  4. ^ [1] Loom's audio drama, which was provided on tape with the game

See also

External links

v · d · eSpinning
Materials
Noil · Rolag · Roving · Sliver · Staple · Top · Tow · Woolen · Worsted
 Hermann Sondermann Familie mit Frau am Spinnrad detail.jpg
Techniques
Carding · Combing · Heckling · Long draw · Scutching · Short draw · Twist per inch
Hand spinning tools
Hand spinning · Distaff · Niddy noddy · Spindle · Spinning wheel · Spinners weasel
Industrial spinning

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Distaff — Dis taff, n.; pl. {Distaffs}, rarely {Distaves}. [OE. distaf, dysestafe, AS. distaef; cf. LG. diesse the bunch of flax on a distaff, and E. dizen. See {Staff}.] 1. The staff for holding a bunch of flax, tow, or wool, from which the thread is… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • distaff — O.E. distæf stick that holds flax for spinning, from dis bunch of flax (Cf. M.L.G. dise, Low Ger. diesse a bunch of flax on a distaff; see BEDIZEN (Cf. bedizen)) + stæf stick, staff (see STAFF (Cf. staff)). A synonym in English for …   Etymology dictionary

  • distaff — ► NOUN 1) a stick or spindle on to which wool or flax is wound for spinning. 2) (before another noun ) denoting the female side or members of a family. Compare with SPEAR(Cf. ↑spear) (in sense 3). ORIGIN Old English …   English terms dictionary

  • distaff — [dis′taf΄] n. [ME distaf < OE distæf < dis , flax (see DIZEN) + stæf, STAFF1] 1. a staff on which fibers, as flax or wool, are wound before being spun into thread 2. woman s work or concerns 3. Archaic woman, or women in general adj …   English World dictionary

  • distaff — /dis taf, tahf/, n. 1. a staff with a cleft end for holding wool, flax, etc., from which the thread is drawn in spinning by hand. 2. a similar attachment on a spinning wheel. 3. Archaic. a. a woman or women collectively. b. woman s work. adj. 4.… …   Universalium

  • distaff — UK [ˈdɪstɑːf] / US [ˈdɪˌstæf] noun [countable] Word forms distaff : singular distaff plural distaffs a small stick used in the past for winding wool around when spinning • on the distaff side …   English dictionary

  • distaff — I. noun (plural distaffs) Etymology: Middle English distaf, from Old English distæf, from dis (akin to Middle Low German dise bunch of flax) + stæf staff Date: before 12th century 1. a. a staff for holding the flax, tow, or wool in spinning b.… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • distaff — [OE] The compound noun distaff ‘rod for holding flax, wool, etc in spinning’ was a late Old English formation from *dis ‘bunch of flax’ (a word which survives in bedizen [17], a derivative of the obsolete dizen, which originally meant ‘put flax… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • distaff — [ dɪstα:f] noun 1》 a stick or spindle on to which wool or flax is wound for spinning. 2》 [as modifier] denoting or concerning women: a family tree on the distaff side. Compare with spear (in sense 3). Origin OE distæf: the first element is appar …   English new terms dictionary

  • distaff — [OE] The compound noun distaff ‘rod for holding flax, wool, etc in spinning’ was a late Old English formation from *dis ‘bunch of flax’ (a word which survives in bedizen [17], a derivative of the obsolete dizen, which originally meant ‘put flax… …   Word origins

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