Noun

(label) A long, straight stick, especially one used to assist in walking.

*{{quote-book, year=1927, author= F. E. Penny

, chapter=4, title= Pulling the Strings , passage=The case was that of a murder. It had an element of mystery about it, however, which was puzzling the authorities. A turban and loincloth soaked in blood had been found; also a staff .}}

A series of horizontal lines on which musical notes are written.

(label) The employees of a business.

* {{quote-news, year=2011, date=December 16, author=Denis Campbell, work=Guardian

, title= Hospital staff 'lack skills to cope with dementia patients' , passage=Most staff do not have the skills to cope with such challenging patients, who too often receive "impersonal" care and suffer from boredom, the first National Audit of Dementia found. It says hospitals should introduce "dementia champions".}}

(label) A mixture of plaster and fibre used as a temporary exterior wall covering.

A pole, stick, or wand borne as an ensign of authority; a badge of office.

* (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)

Methought this staff , mine office badge in court, / Was broke in twain.

*Sir (c.1564-1627)

All his officers brake their staves'; but at their return new ' staves were delivered unto them.

A pole upon which a flag is supported and displayed.

(label) The rung of a ladder.

* Dr. J. Campbell (E. Brown's Travels)

I ascend at one [ladder] of six hundred and thirty-nine staves .

A series of verses so disposed that, when it is concluded, the same order begins again; a stanza; a stave.

* (John Dryden) (1631-1700)

Cowley found out that no kind of staff is proper for an heroic poem, as being all too lyrical.

(label) An arbor, as of a wheel or a pinion of a watch.

(label) The grooved director for the gorget, or knife, used in cutting for stone in the bladder.

(label) An establishment of officers in various departments attached to an army, to a section of an army, or to the commander of an army. The general's staff consists of those officers about his person who are employed in carrying his commands into execution.

Noun

(agencies)

The capacity, condition, or state of acting or of exerting power; action or activity; operation.

The superintendence and agency of Providence in the natural world. --Woodward.

A person or thing through which power is exerted or an end is achieved: instrumentality, means.

The office or function of an agent; also, the relationship between a principal and that person's agent.

An establishment engaged in doing business for another; also, the place of business or the district of such an agency.

A department or other administrative unit of a government; also, the office or headquarters of, or the district administered by such unit of government.

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

Central Intelligence Agency