A system of relay riders or messengers; a relay race in which runners pass a baton; a method of rapid communication by relay stations.
From French 'estafette,' possibly from Italian 'staffetta' (diminutive of 'staffa,' stirrup), or from Spanish 'estafeta.' The term originally referred to mounted messengers who relayed across Europe.
Before telephones, European powers had entire 'estafette' networks with horses stationed every few miles—it was the internet of the 1700s, and military supremacy partly depended on having the fastest relay system!
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