staff

staff, in musical notation, a set of horizontal lines upon and between which notes are written so as to determine their relative pitch, and in connection with a clef, their absolute pitch. Staffs with several lines survive from the late 9th cent., the lines denoting only pitches. In early attempts at the notation of plainsong, a single line was drawn, with neumes placed above and below it, giving a rough idea of the relative pitches of the tones. Guido d'Arezzo, in the 11th cent., used several lines and put letters on certain of them to indicate their pitch, thus foreshadowing the use of the clef (see musical notation). Four-line staffs proved adequate for plainsong notation and are still employed for that purpose. In 16th-century keyboard music, staffs of six or seven lines were often employed, but later the five-line staff, with ledger lines for pitches outside the range provided for by the staff, became conventional.

Group of military officers that assists the commander of a division or larger unit by helping to formulate and disseminate policy and by transmitting orders and overseeing their execution. It is distinguished from staffs that consist of technical specialists (e.g., medical, police, communications, and supply officers). It appeared in its modern form in the Prussian army in the early 19th century and in other European countries after 1870. The U.S. Army created a general staff in 1903.

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Staff may refer to:

• Staff (stick), a stick or pole to assist with walking, or sometimes used as a weapon
• Staff (building material), artificial stone product used as ornament
• Staff (music), a set of horizontal lines upon which notes are placed in written music notation
• Staff of office, a stick or pole used for ceremony or designating official status
• Staff (military), the organ of military command and planning
• Staff, a set of people, such as the employees or volunteers, within an organization
• Jacob's staff, a tool used in surveying
• Quarterstaff, a long pole used as a Medieval weapon
• Bō, a long stick used as a weapon, usually in Japanese martial arts
• Leopold Staff (1878–1957), a Polish poet
• Gun (staff), a weapon in Chinese martial arts
• Staff, a nickname for the Staffordshire Bull Terrier

Staff as an acronym may refer to:

• Smart Target-Activated Fire and Forget (XM943 STAFF), an American-made experimental 120mm tank gun shell

Staves is a plural noun form of staff; however when used in the singular sense, stave may also mean:

• a single musical staff
• a curved wooden member which is used with others to form the side of a barrel

See also

• Stuff, a group of items or matter
• Staph, bacteria which can cause infection