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gaffer

noun
/ɡæfɚ/US/ɡæfə/UK

Etymology

Likely a contraction of godfather, but with the vowels influenced by grandfather. Compare French compère, German Gevatter. Compare also Old English ġefædera (“godfather”), of which some unattested dialectal descendant may have been an influence.

  1. inherited from ġefædera

Definitions

  1. A chief lighting technician for a motion-picture or television production.

  2. A glassblower.

    • The apprentice carries a gather of glass on the blowpipe to the gaffer's bench […]

  3. Someone aboard a boat whose duty is to gaff a (large) fish once the angler has reeled it…

    Someone aboard a boat whose duty is to gaff a (large) fish once the angler has reeled it in.

  4. ›+ 5 more definitions

    1. An old person, usually a man.

      • If thou return not, Gammer o'er her pail Will sing in sorrow, 'neath the brinded cow, And Gaffer sigh over his nut-brown ale […]

    2. The leader of a group or team, such as a boss, foreman, coach, or publican.

      • And you're here to tell me what's what. Just like your bloody gaffer promised.

    3. A sailor.

    4. The baby in the house.

    5. A surname.

The neighborhood

Derived

gaffer grip, gaffer tape

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for gaffer. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA