(gēˈzər)
noun Slang An old person, especially an eccentric old man.
Word History: A relationship with a word we know well is disguised in the word
geezer. A clue to this relationship is found in British dialect. The
English Dialect Dictionary defines
geezer as “a queer character, a strangely-acting person,” and refers the reader to
guiser, “a mummer, masquerader.” The citations for
guiser refer to practices such as the following:
“People, usually children … go about on Christmas Eve, singing, wearing masks, or otherwise disguised,” the last word of this passage being the one to which
geezer is related.