Meanings
gaffer1
plural gaffers
- broadcastingA chief lighting technician for a motion-picture or television production.
- A glassblower.
The apprentice carries a gather of glass on the blowpipe to the gaffer's bench […]
2003, Jennifer Bosveld, Glass Works, page 18 - Someone aboard a boat whose duty is to gaff a (large) fish once the angler has reeled it in.
gaffer2
plural gaffers
- colloquialAn old person, usually a man.
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 […]
1845, Thomas Cooper, The Purgatory of Suicides, Book the Fourth, Stanza IX - A sailor.
- CanadaThe baby in the house.
Gaffer3
- A surname.
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
gaffer · noun
From gaff (“hook”) + -er. * (cinema): The natural lighting on early film sets was adjusted by opening and closing flaps in the tent cloths, called gaff cloths or gaff flaps. * (glass)
Full word history & related roots →gaffer · noun
- Old Englishġefædera“godfather”
- Englishgaffer
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.
More words from Old English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian осветител, старче
- осветител (osvetitel)chief lighting technician
- старче (starče)old man
- дядка (djadka)old man
- бригадир (brigadir)foreman
Catalan gaffer
- gafferchief lighting technician
Czech vrchní osvětlovač, strejc
- vrchní osvětlovačchief lighting technician
- strejcold man
- předákforeman
- mistrforeman
Danish lysmand, gammel mand
- lysmandchief lighting technician
- gammel mandold man
- formandforeman
Dutch gaffer
- gafferchief lighting technician
Finnish valaistusmestari, ukko
- valaistusmestarichief lighting technician
- ukkoold man
- äijäold man
- taataold man
- pomoforeman
- kymppiforeman
- pikipöksysailor
French éclairagiste, contre-maître
- éclairagistechief lighting technician
- contre-maîtreforeman
German Oberbeleuchter
- Oberbeleuchterchief lighting technician
Icelandic ljósameistari
- ljósameistarichief lighting technician
Irish saoiste
- saoistechief lighting technician
Italian responsabile luci, vecchio
- responsabile lucichief lighting technician
- vecchioold man
- anzianoold man
- caposquadraforeman
Romanian maestru de lumini, moșneag
- maestru de luminichief lighting technician
- moșneagold man
- moșold man
- bătrânold man
- maistruforeman
Russian гла́вный освети́тель, стари́к
- гла́вный освети́тель (glávnyj osvetítelʹ)chief lighting technician
- стари́к (starík)old man
- деся́тник (desjátnik)foreman
- бригади́р (brigadír)foreman
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with gaffer
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
gaffer. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gaffer
“gaffer.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gaffer. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gaffer,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gaffer.
Source: gaffer on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.