Meaning

noun a man who is a stupid incompetent fool

noun a person who amuses others by ridiculous behavior

verb commit a faux pas or a fault or make a serious mistake

originPerhaps from dialectal English goff (“foolish clown”), from earlier goffe, in which case further etymology is uncertain. Perhaps from Middle English goffen (“to speak in a frivolous manner”), possibly from Old English gaf, ġegaf (“base; wanton; lewd”, adjective), ġegaf (“buffoonery; scurrility”, noun), gaffetung, golfettung (“buffoonery; mockery”). Compare English dialectal gauffin (“lightheaded;…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0