vine staff

noun

A cane originally made of twisted grapevine trimmings and used by Roman centurions to beat the soldiers under their command; the various mushroom-headed batons later borne by them as a mark of office.

Similar
centurion's staff
OriginLatin vītis →
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Meanings

nounvine staff (plural vine staffs or vine staves)

plural vine staffs · plural vine staves · alternative vine-staff

  1. historicalA cane originally made of twisted grapevine trimmings and used by Roman centurions to beat the soldiers under their command; the various mushroom-headed batons later borne by them as a mark of office.

    Synonyms: centurion's staff

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA cane originally made of twisted grapevine trimmings and used by Roman centurions to beat the soldiers under their command; the various mushroom-headed batons later borne by them as a mark of office.

Similar
centurion's staff
Also see
centurion's staff

Origin

  1. Latinvītis“vine; vine staff”
  2. Englishvine staff

Calque of Latin vītis (“vine; vine staff”).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Hungarian szőlőbot, vezérbot
  • szőlőbotTranslations
  • vezérbotTranslations
Latin vitis
  • vitisTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

vine staff. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vine%20staff

MLA

“vine staff.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vine%20staff. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “vine staff,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vine%20staff.

Source: vine staff on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.