distaff
Staff holding fiber
Distaff is a staff for holding fibers during hand-spinning, traditionally women's work.
From this, distaff came to mean the female side of a family, opposite the male "spear side": on the distaff side.
As an adjective, it describes things relating to women: distaff relatives, the distaff half of the audience.
The word sounds old-fashioned in most contexts.
Offspring-bearing sex
- womenFemale adults collectively
- femininePertaining to women
- womanlyHaving feminine maturity
- maternalOf or like mothers
motherhood · sisterhood · daughters · matrilineal · she · her · lady · gynecological
Descended through maternal line
- matriarchyFemale-dominated social system
- matriarchFemale family leader
- matronFemale institutional supervisor
- uterineOf the womb
Rotating rod for thread
- whorlSpiral arrangement of ridges
- bobbinSmall cylindrical thread holder
- spoolCylinder for winding material
- yarnTwisted strand for crafts
thread · fiber · wool · flax · cotton · silk · roving · drafting
Interlacing strands into fabric
- loomFabric-making frame
- warpBend from true form
- weftCrosswise loom threads
- textileMaterial from woven fibers
fabric · cloth · linen · tapestry · embroidery · needlework · knitting · crochet
female
Offspring-bearing sex
maternal · motherhood · sisterhood · daughters · matrilineal · she · her · lady · gynecological
matrilineal
Descended through maternal line
- matriarchyFemale-dominated social system
- matriarchFemale family leader
- matronFemale institutional supervisor
spindle
Rotating rod for thread
- whorlSpiral arrangement of ridges
- bobbinSmall cylindrical thread holder
- spoolCylinder for winding material
yarn · thread · fiber · wool · flax · cotton · silk · roving · drafting · twist
weaving
Interlacing strands into fabric
textile · fabric · cloth · linen · tapestry · embroidery · needlework · knitting · crochet · quilting
spinning
Revolving around an axis
- wheelRotating circular frame
- handspinningMaking yarn manually
- fiberPlant-based digestive aid
yarn · twist · ply · worsted · treadle · fleece · carding · combing · drafting · spun
lineage
Descent from progenitors
family · heritage · genealogy · pedigree · forebears · kinship · roots · inheritance · succession · posterity
- textilescotton, wool, silk, fabric, thread
- fatedestiny, fate, kismet, Moira, fated
- wooden itemsrolling pin, cutting board, chopsticks, toothpick, skewer
- fiber craftsyarn, wool, cotton, silk, linen
- folk toolsadze, awl, hoe, rake, scythe
- old-time toolsbutter churn, spinning wheel, washboard, hand plow, scythe