Etymologically
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caddie

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 14 October 2026 at 23:58. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈkædi/ (UK); /ˈkædi/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is a Scottish form of the word borrowed from French cadet (“younger son, cadet”).[2][3][4][5][6] It is related to cadet.[4][3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Scottish use, a cadet: a young gentleman who entered the army without a commission (1634–46).[7][3][4]

Semantic evolution

By about 1730 a caddie in Scotland was a man or boy who waited about for odd jobs, such as running errands.[7][3][4][5] Etymonline quotes a letter from Edinburgh of about that date describing the city's ragged but trusted corps of “Cawdys”.[4] The golf sense, a player's attendant who carries the clubs, followed in the 19th century (1851 in Etymonline, 1857 in the OED and Barnhart).[4][7][3] The verb is recorded from 1908.[3] In modern use the word also means a wheeled carrier for luggage and the like.[5][6]

Timeline

  • 1634–46 – a cadet.[7][3]
  • c. 1730 – an errand boy or odd-job man.[7][3][5]
  • 1851 – a golfer's attendant (Etymonline, 1857 in the OED and Barnhart).[4][7][3]
  • 1908 – verb.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person hired to help a golfer, especially by carrying the clubs.
  2. A person who runs errands or does odd jobs.
  3. A wheeled device for carrying things, such as luggage.

Verb

  1. To work as a caddie.

Word family

  • forecaddie

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press