Gaffer

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Gaffer \Gaf"fer\ (g[a^]f"f[~e]r), n. [Possibly contr. fr.
     godfather; but prob. fr. gramfer for grandfather. Cf.
     {Gammer}.]
     1. An old fellow; an aged rustic.
        [1913 Webster]
  


              Go to each gaffer and each goody.     --Fawkes.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: Gaffer was originally a respectful title, now
           degenerated into a term of familiarity or contempt when
           addressed to an aged man in humble life.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A foreman or overseer of a gang of laborers. [Prov. Eng.]
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  gaffer
       n 1: an elderly man [syn: {old-timer}, {oldtimer}, {old geezer},
            {antique}]
       2: an electrician responsible for lighting on a movie or tv set
       3: a person who exercises control over workers; "if you want to
          leave early you have to ask the foreman" [syn: {foreman},
          {chief}, {honcho}, {boss}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  68 Moby Thesaurus words for "gaffer":
     Big Brother, Father Time, Methuselah, Nestor, Old Paar, auditor,
     boatswain, boss, centenarian, chief, comptroller, controller,
     dotard, duffer, elder, floor manager, floorman, floorwalker,
     foreman, ganger, geezer, golden-ager, gramps, grandfather,
     grandsire, graybeard, head, headman, inspector, monitor,
     nonagenarian, noncommissioned officer, octogenarian, old boy,
     old chap, old codger, old dog, old duffer, old geezer, old gent,
     old gentleman, old man, old party, old-timer, older, oldster,
     overman, overseer, pantaloon, patriarch, presbyter, proctor,
     senior citizen, septuagenarian, sexagenarian, sirdar, slave driver,
     straw boss, subforeman, super, superintendent, supervisor,
     surveyor, taskmaster, the quiet-voiced elders, venerable sir,
     veteran, visitor