Link Centre Dictionary

gaffer

gaf·fer

UK/ɡæfə/ US/ɡæfɚ/ uncommon informal uk

noun

1.
2.
3.

a person who exercises control over workers

  • “if you want to leave early you have to ask the foreman”
Synonyms

Origin

Likely a contraction of godfather, but with the vowels influenced by grandfather. Compare French compère, German Gevatter. Compare also Old English ġefædera (“godfather”), of which some unattested dialectal descendant may have been an influence.

Phrases

  • gaffer grip
  • gaffer tape

Related words

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.