gaffer

See also: Gaffer

English

Etymology 1

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.

Pronunciation

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 […]
Translations
glassblower — see glassblower
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked

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. (Britain) A foreman.
  3. A sailor.
  4. (in Maritime regions) The baby in the house.
Synonyms
Translations
baby — see baby

References

Anagrams

French

Etymology

gaffe +‎ -er

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)
present participle gaffant
/ɡa.fɑ̃/
past participle gaffé
/ɡa.fe/
infinitive
simple gaffer
compound avoir + past participle
gerund1
simple gaffant
/ɡa.fɑ̃/
compound ayant + past participle
singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative je (j’) tu il, elle 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 Only usable with preposition en.
2 In less formal writing or speech, the past historic, past anterior, imperfect subjunctive and pluperfect subjunctive tenses may be found to have been replaced with the indicative present perfect, indicative pluperfect, present subjunctive and past subjunctive tenses respectively (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

Further reading

Norman

Etymology

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
radicalsoftnasalaspirate
caffer gaffer nghaffer chaffer
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.
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