A Stift can be:
a German (der Stift [plural Stifte]) and Dutch word for 'pen', 'pencil', cylindric 'pin' or 'peg' a Swedish (stiftet [plural stift]) word for cylindric 'pin', 'peg' or 'pencil lead' (but not pen or pencil). a German word (der Stift [plural Stifte]) for a freshman 'apprentice' a German word (das Stift [plural Stifte]; 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 Tübinger Stift a Nordic administrative jurisdiction, under a bailiff (; Amtmann or Ammann in Switzerland) a Nordic expression for an ecclesiastical diocese