gaff

Meaning

1. A tool consisting of a large metal hook with a handle or pole, especially the one used to pull large fish aboard a boat.
2. A minor error or faux pas, a gaffe.
3. A trick or con.
4. The upper spar used to control a gaff-rigged sail.
5. A type of tight, panty-like underwear worn to hold the male genitalia tucked backwards and make one's genital region look smooth, as if one had a vulva.

hook

long-handled hook

fish-fork

fish spear

elephant goad

Frequency

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɡæf/

From Middle English gaffe, from Old French gaffe, from Old Occitan gaf (“hook”), derivative of gafar (“to seize”), from Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐍆𐍆- (gaff-) derived from 𐌲𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌽 (giban, “to give”). Doublet of gaffe. The underwear sense apparently derives from the idea that the garment tricks or deceives others about the wearer's genitalia.