gaffer

See also: Gaffer

English

Etymology 1

From gaff (“hook”) +‎ -er.

• (cinema): The natural lighting on early film sets was adjusted by opening and closing flaps in the tent cloths, called gaff cloths or gaff flaps.
• (glass): (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɡæfɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɡæfə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æfə(ɹ)

Noun

gaffer (plural gaffers)

1. (film) A chief lighting technician for a motion-picture or television production.
2. A glassblower.
   • 2003, Jennifer Bosveld, Glass Works, page 18:

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

Derived terms

• gaffer grip
• gaffer tape

Translations

chief lighting technician

• Bulgarian: осветител m (osvetitel)
• Catalan: gaffer m
• Czech: vrchní osvětlovač m
• Dutch: gaffer (nl)
• Finnish: valaistusmestari
• French: éclairagiste (fr) m or f
• German: Oberbeleuchter (de) m
• Icelandic: ljósameistari m
• Irish: saoiste m
• Italian: responsabile luci m
• Romanian: maestru de lumini m
• Russian: гла́вный освети́тель m (glávnyj osvetítelʹ)

glassblower — see glassblower

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Danish: ^{(please verify)} lysmand

Etymology 2

Likely a contraction of godfather, but with the vowels influenced by grandfather. Compare French compère, German Gevatter.

Noun

gaffer (plural gaffers)

1. (colloquial) An old man.
   • 1845, Thomas Cooper, The Purgatory of Suicides, Book the Fourth, Stanza IX:

     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. (UK, informal) The leader of a group or team, such as a boss, foreman, coach, or publican.
   • 2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 117:

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

3. A sailor.
4. (Canada) The baby in the house.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:old man

Related terms

• gammer

Translations

old man

• Bulgarian: старче m (starče), дядка m (djadka)
• Czech: strejc m
• Danish: gammel mand
• Finnish: ukko (fi), äijä (fi), taata (fi)
• Georgian: მოხუცი (moxuci), ბერიკაცი (ka) (beriḳaci), ბებერი (beberi)
• Italian: vecchio (it) m, anziano (it) m
• Romanian: moșneag (ro) m, moș (ro) m, bătrân (ro) m
• Russian: стари́к (ru) m (starík)

foreman

• Bulgarian: бригадир (bg) m (brigadir)
• Danish: formand
• Finnish: pomo (fi), kymppi (fi)
• French: contre-maître (fr) m
• Georgian: ათისთავი (atistavi)
• Italian: caposquadra m
• Romanian: maistru (ro) m
• Russian: деся́тник (ru) m (desjátnik), бригади́р (ru) m (brigadír)

sailor

• Finnish: pikipöksy
• Georgian: მეზღვაური (mezɣvauri)

baby — see baby

References

• “gaffer”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1989.

Anagrams

• Graeff

French

Etymology

From gaffe +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

gaffer

1. to make a gaffe; to mess up; botch up
2. to gaffer tape

Conjugation

Conjugation of gaffer (see also Appendix:French verbs)

infinitive	simple	gaffer
	compound	avoir + past participle
present participle or gerund1	simple	gaffant /ɡa.fɑ̃/
	compound	ayant + past participle
past participle		gaffé /ɡa.fe/
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il, elle, on	nous	vous	ils, elles
(simple tenses)	present	gaffe /ɡaf/	gaffes /ɡaf/	gaffe /ɡaf/	gaffons /ɡa.fɔ̃/	gaffez /ɡa.fe/	gaffent /ɡaf/
	imperfect	gaffais /ɡa.fɛ/	gaffais /ɡa.fɛ/	gaffait /ɡa.fɛ/	gaffions /ɡa.fjɔ̃/	gaffiez /ɡa.fje/	gaffaient /ɡa.fɛ/
	past historic2	gaffai /ɡa.fe/	gaffas /ɡa.fa/	gaffa /ɡa.fa/	gaffâmes /ɡa.fam/	gaffâtes /ɡa.fat/	gaffèrent /ɡa.fɛʁ/
	future	gafferai /ɡa.fʁe/	gafferas /ɡa.fʁa/	gaffera /ɡa.fʁa/	gafferons /ɡa.fʁɔ̃/	gafferez /ɡa.fʁe/	gafferont /ɡa.fʁɔ̃/
	conditional	gafferais /ɡa.fʁɛ/	gafferais /ɡa.fʁɛ/	gafferait /ɡa.fʁɛ/	gafferions /ɡa.fə.ʁjɔ̃/	gafferiez /ɡa.fə.ʁje/	gafferaient /ɡa.fʁɛ/
(compound tenses)	present perfect	present indicative of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
	past anterior2	past historic of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il, qu’elle	que nous	que vous	qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple tenses)	present	gaffe /ɡaf/	gaffes /ɡaf/	gaffe /ɡaf/	gaffions /ɡa.fjɔ̃/	gaffiez /ɡa.fje/	gaffent /ɡaf/
	imperfect2	gaffasse /ɡa.fas/	gaffasses /ɡa.fas/	gaffât /ɡa.fa/	gaffassions /ɡa.fa.sjɔ̃/	gaffassiez /ɡa.fa.sje/	gaffassent /ɡa.fas/
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect2	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
simple		—	gaffe /ɡaf/	—	gaffons /ɡa.fɔ̃/	gaffez /ɡa.fe/	—
compound		—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—
1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en.
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way: past historic → present perfect past anterior → pluperfect imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

Further reading

• “gaffer”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Norman

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• Audio (Jersey):

  (file)

Verb

gaffer

1. (Jersey) to grasp

Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡafɛr/

Verb

gaffer

1. Soft mutation of caffer.

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
caffer	gaffer	nghaffer	chaffer
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.