staff of life
Bread or some other staple foodstuffBread or some other staple foodstuff.
Meaning
1 senses(idiomatic, literary, often, poetic)Bread or some other staple foodstuff.
- food made from dough of flour or meal and usually raised with yeast or baking powder and then baked
Origin
By extension from the Biblical phrase “break the staff of bread” (Hebrew מַטֶּה לֶחֶם (matBy extension from the Biblical phrase “break the staff of bread” (Hebrew מַטֶּה לֶחֶם (maté lékhem)), staff (“long, straight rod”) in this context meaning something that acts as a support: see, for example, Leviticus 26:26 (King James Version; spelling modernized): “And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied”; and Ezekiel 4:16: “[…] Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care, and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment: […]”. Compare Egyptian ḫt n ꜥnḫ (“grain; food”, literally “stick or wood of life”).
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Forms
plural: staff of lives| Singular | staff of life |
|---|---|
| Plural | staff of lives |
regular
Synonyms
2 synonyms- food made from dough of flour or meal and usually raised with yeast or baking powder and then baked:breadbreadstuff