Well, my guess is that the

term was sometimes used colloquially to refer to an old man, an elderly rustic. The word is probably a shortening of "godfather", with "ga" from association with "grandfather". The female equivalent, "gammer", came to refer colloquially to an old lady or to a gossip. The use of gaffer in this way can be seen, for example, in J.R.R. Tolkien's character Gaffer Gamgee.

Posted By: Steve in Holland, Aug 7, 17:20:13