quarterstaff
Americannoun
plural
quarterstaves, quarterstaffs-
a former English weapon consisting of a stout pole 6 to 8 feet (1.8 to 2.4 meters) long, tipped with iron.
-
exercise or fighting with this weapon.
noun
-
a stout iron-tipped wooden staff about 6ft long, formerly used in England as a weapon
-
the use of such a staff in fighting, sport, or exercise
Etymology
Origin of quarterstaff
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
On NBC, an American Gladiator is a beefcake model in a unitard swinging his padded quarterstaff.
From Time Magazine Archive
Come, step forward, my friend, and do not play at bo peep; knowest thou not, that they who walk like phantoms in the dark are apt to encounter the conjuration of a quarterstaff?
From The Fair Maid of Perth Or, St. Valentine's Day by Scott, Walter, Sir
I can wield a quarterstaff as well as a prize-fighter, and have beaten Figg himself at the broadsword.
From Jack Sheppard A Romance by Ainsworth, William Harrison
A loaded quarterstaff, one of the two favourite weapons of the Tahitian brave; the javelin, or casting spear, was the other.
From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 14 (of 25) by Stevenson, Robert Louis
On that they gave me a woodman's billhook, and a seax,iii such as the churls wear, and one thrust a good ash, iron-shod quarterstaff into my hands.
From A Thane of Wessex by Whistler, Charles W. (Charles Watts)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
