Home › Words › C › cowlstaffcowlstaff/ˈkaʊlstɑːf/cowlstaff means A staff used to carry a cowl or other burden, especially held by two people on their shoulders.cowlstaff is pronounced /ˈkaʊlstɑːf/.EtymologyFrom Old French cuvele, from Latin cupela, diminutive of cupa (“cask”), + staff. cowl + staff.nounA staff used to carry a cowl or other burden, especially held by two people on their shoulders.e.g.“[fight] performed by bastons, clubs and coulstaves” — 1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “(please specify |book=I to XXXVII)”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. PlinDefinitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).Words closest in meaningBy meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.cowlift 65% match — A hoist for lifting cattle. vs cowlstaff →cowl 62% match — A monk's hood that can be pulled forward to cover the face; a robe with such a hood attached to it. vs cowlstaff →cowling 60% match — A young or little cow; calf. vs cowlstaff →cowlless 59% match — Without a cowl. vs cowlstaff →cowled 58% match — Wearing a cowl; hooded. vs cowlstaff →broomstaff 57% match — A broomstick. vs cowlstaff →stavesman 57% match — An official bearing a stave or wand. vs cowlstaff →quarterstaff 55% match — A wooden staff with an approximate length between 2 and 2.5 meters, sometimes tipped with iron, used as a weapon in rural England during the Early Modern period. vs cowlstaff →