Hypertext Webster Gateway: "gaff"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Gaff \Gaff\, n. [OE. gaffe, F. gaffe an iron hook with which
seamen pull great fishes into their ships; cf. Ir. gaf, gafa
hook; perh. akin to G. gabel fork, Skr. gabhasti. Cf.
{Gaffle}, {Gable}.]
1. A barbed spear or a hook with a handle, used by fishermen
in securing heavy fish.
2. (Naut.) The spar upon which the upper edge of a
fore-and-aft sail is extended.
3. Same as {Gaffle}, 1. --Wright.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Gaff \Gaff\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Gaffed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Gaffing}.]
To strike with a gaff or barbed spear; to secure by means of
a gaff; as, to gaff a salmon.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
gaff
n 1: a spar rising aft from a mast to support the head of a
quadrilateral fore-and-aft sail
2: an iron hook with a handle; used for landing large fish
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