gaffer
\ɡa.fe\
The verdict
“gaffer” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Accrocher quelque chose avec une gaffe.
Corpus desk
Index FR-gaffer · gaffer · French
gaffer · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "G" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | gaffer |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | \ɡa.fe\ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Longue queue: rang de « gaffer » en français
Rare enough to double-check
gaffer is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed \ɡa.fe\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for gaffer, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is gaffer, spelled G-A-F-F-E-R.
Definition
- 1Accrocher quelque chose avec une gaffe.
- 2Mettre du gaffer sur quelque chose.
- 3Commettre une gaffe, dire ou faire ce qu’il n’eût fallu ni dire ni faire.
- 4Remarquer, faire attention, prendre garde, faire gaffe.
- 5Regarder.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how gaffer appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Tu peux gaffer le projecteur, j’ai peur qu’il ne tombe pendant la soirée.
Je ne veux pas du tout me mêler à la cérémonie ; d’abord, je n’y connais rien et je gafferais, ensuite je ne veux pas me couvrir de ridicule.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.