gaffe

• gaff

From French gaffe (“blunder”). Doublet of gaff.

• Audio (US):

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• IPA^(key): /ɡæf/
• Rhymes: -æf
• Homophone: gaff

gaffe (plural gaffes)

1. A foolish and embarrassing error, especially one made in public.

   Synonyms: blooper, blunder, mistake, error, slip, slip-up; see also Thesaurus:error

   make a gaffe

• Kinsley gaffe

• malapropism
• Freudian slip
• Bushism

From Old Occitan gaf (“clasp”), from Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐍆𐌰𐌷 (gafah, “clasp”, noun), from 𐌲𐌰- (ga-, intensifier) + 𐍆𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽 (fahan, “to catch”).

• IPA^(key): /ɡaf/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -af

gaffe f (plural gaffes)

1. gaffe, blunder, goof-up (North American), cock-up (British)

• faire gaffe

• → English: gaffe
• → Italian: gaffe
• → Portuguese: gafe
• → Romanian: gafă
• → Turkish: gaf

gaffe f (plural gaffes)

1. (nautical) boathook

• “gaffe”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

• Audio:

  (file)

gaffe

1. inflection of gaffen:
   1. first-person singular present
   2. singular imperative
   3. first/third-person singular subjunctive I

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡaf.fe/
• Rhymes: -affe
• Hyphenation: gàf‧fe

gaffe f

1. plural of gaffa

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡaf/
• Rhymes: -af

gaffe f (invariable)

1. gaffe, blunder, boob