A distaff (, , also called a rock"Rock." ''The Oxford English Dictionary''. 2nd ed. 1989.), is a

tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...

used in

spinning Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

. It is designed to hold the unspun

fiber Fiber or fibre (from la, fibra, links=no) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorpora ...

s, keeping them untangled and thus easing the spinning process. It is most commonly used to hold

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known i ...

and sometimes

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. ...

, but can be used for any type of fibre. Fiber is wrapped around the distaff and tied in place with a piece of ribbon or string. The word comes from Low German ''dis'', meaning a bunch of flax, connected with staff. As an

adjective In linguistics, an adjective ( abbreviated ) is a word that generally modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun. Traditionally, adjectives were considered one of the ...

, the term ''distaff'' is used to describe the female side of a family. The corresponding term for the male side of a family is the "spear" side.

Form

In Western Europe, there were two common forms of distaves, depending on the spinning method. The traditional form is a staff held under one's arm while using a spindle – see the figure illustration. It is about long, held under the left arm, with the right hand used in drawing the fibres from it."Distaff." ''The Oxford English Dictionary''. 2nd ed. 1989. 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 A spinning wheel is a device for spinning thread or yarn from fibres. It was fundamental to the cotton textile industry prior to the Industrial Revolution. It laid the foundations for later machinery such as the spinning jenny and spinning ...

. On a wheel, it is placed next to the

bobbin A bobbin or spool is a spindle or cylinder, with or without flanges, on which yarn, thread, wire, tape or film is wound. Bobbins are typically found in industrial textile machinery, as well as in sewing machines, fishing reels, tape measures ...

, where it is in easy reach of the spinner. This version is shorter, but otherwise does not differ from the spindle version. By contrast, the traditional Russian distaff, used both with spinning wheels and with 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. Recently, handspinners have begun using '' wrist distaves'' to hold their fiber; these are made of flexible material, such as braided yarn, and can swing freely from the wrist. A wrist distaff generally consists 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 snagged.

Dressing

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

The term ''distaff'' is also used as an

to describe the

matrilineal Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's lineage – and which can involve the inheritance ...

branch of a family, i.e., 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. Proverbs 31 cites the "wife of noble character" as one who "holds the distaff". 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 The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Graded stakes race, Grade I Thoroughbred racing, Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was ...

, the major race for fillies and mares was the Breeders' Cup Distaff. From 2008 to 2012, the event was referred to as the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic. Starting in 2013, the name of the race changed back to ''Breeders' Cup Distaff''. It is commonly regarded as the female analog of the better-known Breeders' Cup Classic, though female horses are not barred from entering that race. The phrase "on the distaff side" was commonly used by reporters covering athletic competitions when transitioning from men's events over to the highlights of women's events. In

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern peri ...

, the goddess

Frigg Frigg (; Old Norse: ) is a goddess, one of the Æsir, in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about her, she is associated with marriage, prophecy, clairvoyance and motherhood, and dwells in the wet ...

spins clouds from her bejewelled distaff in the Norse constellation known as Frigg's Spinning Wheel (''Friggerock'', also known as Orion's belt).

In popular culture

* The Women's division of the mixed-martial-arts organization EXC (

Elite Xtreme Combat Elite Xtreme Combat, also known as EliteXC, was a United States-based mixed martial arts (MMA) organization owned and operated by ProElite. It was founded as a partnership between Showtime Networks and ProElite and officially announced on Decemb ...

) is known as the "Distaff Division". * In the video game '' Loom'' by

Lucasfilm Games Lucasfilm Games (known as LucasArts between 1990 and 2021) is an American video game licensor that is part of Lucasfilm. It was founded in May 1982 by George Lucas as a video game development group alongside his film company; as part of a large ...

(1990), the Weavers' Guild, the game's equivalent to wizards, and the main character, Bobbin Threadbare, use wooden staves called "distaffs" to control their magic, with which they "weave the very fabric of reality".''Loom''s audio drama
which was provided on tape with the game

References

External links