Wikipedia
The term stift or capitalised Stift (in German, and Danish until 1948, the corresponding Dutch term is sticht) is derived from the verb "stiften" (to donate) and originally meant a donation. Such donations usually comprised earning assets, originally landed estates with serfs defraying dues (originally often in kind) or with vassal tenants of noble rank providing military services and forwarding dues collected from serfs. In modern times the earning assets could also be financial assets donated to form a fund to maintain an endowment, especially a charitable foundation. When landed estates, donated as a Stift to maintain the college of a monastery, the chapter of a collegiate church or the cathedral chapter of a diocese, formed a territory enjoying the status of an imperial state within the Holy Roman Empire then the term Stift often also denotes the territory itself. In order to specify this territorial meaning the term Stift is then composed with the compound "hoch" as Hochstift, denoting a prince-bishopric, or Erzstift for a prince-archbishopric.
A Stift can be:
- a German (der Stift [plural Stifte]) and Dutch word for 'pen', 'pencil', cylindric 'pin' or 'peg'
- a German word (der Stift [plural Stifte]) for a freshman 'apprentice'
- a German word (das Stift [plural Stifter]; Dutch corresponding het sticht) for an endowment of estates, or landed estates under the secular rule of a prince of the church; also in compounds such as Hochstift
- a Nordic administrative jurisdiction, under a Stiftamtmand (Danish)
- a Nordic expression for an ecclesiastical diocese
Usage examples of "stift".
When we went into the little town of Liechtenkinn which was the nearest to the Damen stift we went downhill all the way.
It is Essen Stift and the mineral rights have in the past been controlled by the Abbess of Essen.
With Dutch troops occupying the area, however, Essen Stift is currently being administered by the Essen city council although technically they have no legal right to do so.
Rife stepped out of his dark-blue Graf und Stift to go into Runnymede Bank and Trust on the square.
The one thing that I worried about, that might allow the authorities of the New United States in the Stift to trace the pamphlet to its origins, was the need for anyone who was to use the duplicating machine to purchase so much paper.