cadet

noun

ca·​det kə-ˈdet How to pronounce cadet (audio)
plural cadets
Synonyms of cadetnext
1
a
: a younger brother or son
b
: youngest son
c
: a younger branch of a family or a member of it
2
a
: a person in training for a military or naval commission
especially : a student in a service academy
b
: a student at a police academy : a person who is in training to become a police officer
During his swearing-in speech last August, the 54-year-old head cop pointed out that he still wears the same size uniform that he wore when he was a cadet at the Police Academy 34 years ago.—Bernard C. Parks
3
slang : pimp
cadetship
kə-ˈdet-ˌship How to pronounce cadet (audio)
noun

Synonyms

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 

Examples of cadet in a Sentence

the hooker claims she turned all her dough in to her cadet last night
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Midshipmen and cadets who transfer in are required to enter as freshmen, with all credits lost and gruelling summer training ahead. —Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2024 At boot camp, Vi and her fellow cadets are put through a rigorous grind under the uncompromising supervision of Captain Ryan Douglas (Klena). —EW.com, 18 Oct. 2024 In a post to social media Wednesday morning, San Antonio Police Chief Bill McManus said that the Olmos Park police chief had requested help with the search, prompting McManus to send 25 cadets to assist. —Cara Tabachnick, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2024 Friday night, Civil Air Patrol cadets went out looking for a plane’s black box as part of the exercise. —Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 14 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for cadet 

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, going back to Middle French, borrowed from Gascon (15th-century) capdet "chief, captain" (Old Occitan capdel), going back to Vulgar Latin *capitellus "leader," from Latin capit-, caput "head" + -ellus, diminutive suffix, originally from noun stems ending in -ul-, -r-, and -n- — more at head entry 1

Note: Compare capital entry 3, caudillo. In the fifteenth century the younger sons of Gascon nobles, lacking an inheritance, were recruited into the French army to learn the military profession. In this context the Gascon word was loaned into French, but with the sense "younger son," the characteristic feature of these men to the French, rather than with its Gascon meaning. The Gascon connection was soon lost. The -t of capdet shows the peculiar outcome of Latin geminate -ll- in Gascon. The cluster -pd- was simplified in French to -d-.

First Known Use

1610, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of cadet was in 1610

Phrases Containing cadet

Dictionary Entries Near cadet

cade oil

cadet

cadet blue

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Cadet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cadet. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.

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Kids Definition

cadet

noun
ca·​det kə-ˈdet How to pronounce cadet (audio)
1
: a student military officer
2
: a student at a military school
cadetship
-ˌship How to pronounce cadet (audio)
noun
Etymology

from French cadet "a younger brother or son, one training for military service," derived from Latin capitellum, literally, "little (younger) head or chief," from caput "head" — related to cad, caddie, capital, captain, chief see Word History at caddie

More from Merriam-Webster on cadet

Nglish: Translation of cadet for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of cadet for Arabic Speakers

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