Distaff

King James Dictionary

Distaff n.

1. The staff of a spinning-wheel, to which a bunch of flax or tow is tied, and from which the thread is drawn.

She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.  Proverbs 31 .

2. Figuratively, a woman, or the female sex.

His crown usurped, a distaff on the throne.

Webster's Dictionary

(1): ( n.) Used as a symbol of the holder of a distaff; hence, a woman; women, collectively.

(2): ( n.) The staff for holding a bunch of flax, tow, or wool, from which the thread is drawn in spinning by hand.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

The staff that holds the bunch of flax or wool, which, with the spindle are implements of spinning by the hand.  Proverbs 31:19 .

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Proverbs 31:19

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Proverbs 31:19

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

DISTAFF . See Spinning and Weaving.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

( פֶּלֶךְ , prop. a circle, e.g. a district or quarter of a city, "part,"  Nehemiah 3:9-18; hence the whirl of a spindle, with which, it is put in parallelism,  Proverbs 31:19; once a "staff," or crutch,  2 Samuel 3:29), the instrument used for twisting the thread in spinning by its twirl. (See Spindle).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

dis´taf ( פלך , pelekh ): This word occurs once in  Proverbs 31:19; "spindle" is found in the same passage. In the Revised Version (British and American) the meanings of the two words have been exchanged. See Spinning .