- an old man, esp. one from the country: now usually humorous
- a master glass blower
- chief electrician in charge of lighting on a TV or film set
- Brit. a foreman of a group of workers
Origin of gaffer
altered from godfathergaffer
gaf·ferWebster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"gaffer." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 22 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/GAFFER>.
APA Style
gaffer. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22nd, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/GAFFER
gaffer
noun
- An electrician in charge of lighting on a movie or television set.
- Chiefly British An old man or a rustic.
- Chiefly British A boss or foreman.
Origin of gaffer
Probably alteration (influenced by grandfather )of godfatherTHE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"gaffer." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 22 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/GAFFER>.
APA Style
gaffer. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22nd, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/GAFFER
Noun
(plural gaffers)
- (film) A chief lighting technician for a motion-picture or television production.
- 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)
- gaffer tape
Origin
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.
Noun
(plural gaffers)
- (colloquial) An old man.
- (UK) A foreman.
- An "Old Gaffer" is a sailor.
- In Maritime regions "the Little Gaffer" is the baby in the house.
Origin
Likely a contraction of godfather, but with the vowels influenced by grandfather. Compare French compère, German gevatter.
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
Link to this page
Cite this page
MLA Style
"gaffer." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 22 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/GAFFER>.
APA Style
gaffer. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22nd, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/GAFFER
