Gaffer definition
A master glass blower.
noun
An electrician in charge of lighting on a movie or television set.
noun
(chiefly british) An old man or a rustic.
noun
(chiefly british) A boss or foreman.
noun
An old man, esp. one from the country.
noun
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Chief electrician in charge of lighting on a TV or film set.
noun
(brit.) A foreman of a group of workers.
noun
A glassblower.
Glassblowing is a glassforming technique that involves inflating molten glass into a bubble, or parison, with the aid of a blowpipe, or blow tube. A person who blows glass is called a glassblower, glassmith, or gaffer. (2012 November)
noun
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(colloquial) An old man.
noun
An "Old Gaffer" is a sailor.
noun
In Maritime regions "the Little Gaffer" is the baby in the house.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun
Singular:
gaffer
Plural:
gaffersOrigin of gaffer
- Probably alteration (influenced by grandfather) of godfather
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- From Middle English gaffe (“a hook”) + -er. The natural lighting on early film sets was adjusted by opening and closing flaps in the tent cloths, called gaff cloths or gaff flaps.
From Wiktionary
- Likely a contraction of godfather, but with the vowels influenced by grandfather. Compare French compère, German gevatter.
From Wiktionary