stave
• noun 1 any of the lengths of wood fixed side by side to make a barrel, bucket, etc. 2 a strong stick, post, or pole. 3 (also staff) Music a set of five parallel lines on or between any of which a note is written to indicate its pitch. 4 a verse or stanza of a poem. • verb 1 (past and past part. staved or stove) (stave in) break (something) by forcing it inwards or piercing it roughly with a hole. 2 (past and past part. staved) (stave off) avert or delay (something bad or dangerous). — ORIGIN from staves, variant plural form of STAFF.
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