Plural of gofer; people who run errands or do minor tasks for others, especially in an office or on a film set.
From 'go for,' a phrase meaning to fetch or retrieve things. The term emerged in American English in the mid-20th century as workplace slang for entry-level employees who literally 'go for' coffee, documents, and other items.
The word 'gofer' perfectly captures how English creates nouns from phrasal verbs—we take 'go for' and smoosh it into a single word, which is why there's no 'g' sound between the syllables. It's the same process that gave us 'takeout' and 'breakup.'
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