stave

 
Pronunciation: /steɪv/

noun

  • 1a vertical wooden post or plank in a building or other structure.
  • any of the lengths of wood fixed side by side to make a barrel, bucket, or other container.
  • a strong wooden stick or iron pole used as a weapon.
  • 2 (also staff) Music, British a set of five parallel lines on any one or between any adjacent two of which a note is written to indicate its pitch.
  • 3a verse or stanza of a poem.

verb

[with object]
  • 1 (past and past participle staved or stove /stəʊv/) (stave something in) break something by forcing it inwards or piercing it roughly: the door was staved in
  • 2 (past and past participle staved) (stave something off) avert or delay something bad or dangerous: a reassuring presence can stave off a panic attack

Origin:

Middle English: back-formation from staves, archaic plural of staff1. Current senses of the verb date from the early 17th century