gibstaff
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From the dialectal term gib (“hooked stick”) + staff.
Noun[edit]
gibstaff (plural gibstaffs)
- (obsolete) A staff to gauge water, or to push a boat.
- 1987, G. Mustafa Shar, “The Mohanna — An Unknown Life on the Indus River”, in Reports on Field Work Carried out at Mohenjo-Daro: Interim Reports, volume 2 (1983–84), →ISSN, page 173:
- The house boats of the Mohannas are called “Doondees“. One family may live in the same small boat for as long as half a century. These “Doondees“ range in size between 6 m long and 2 m wide up to a length of 14 m and a width of 4 m in the middle of the boat. The boat is basically steered by a gibstaff.
- (obsolete, historical) A staff used in stick fighting; a quarterstaff.
- (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:)
References[edit]
- “gibstaff”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.