cadet English · revision 2091

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kəˈdɛt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|cadet]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from Gascon ''capdet'' “chief, captain”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|la-lat|capitellum|t=little head]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995) a diminutive of [[la|caput|t=head]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A younger son or brother (1610).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The eldest son was regarded as the head of the family and a younger son as a “little head”.^(Etymonline) Younger sons of noble Gascon families commonly served as officers in the French army,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) so the word came to mean a gentleman who entered the army to learn the profession and win a commission (1651).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) From this came the sense of a student at a military or naval academy (1775).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In New Zealand a cadet was a young man learning sheep-farming (1842).^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary) The Scottish form ''cadee'' gave [[caddie]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1610 – a younger son or brother.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1646 – the youngest son.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1651 – a gentleman entering the army to train as an officer.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1775 – a student at a military college.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1842 – New Zealand, a young man learning sheep-farming.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1873 – a schoolboy receiving military training.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A student training to be an officer, especially at a military academy.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A younger son or brother, or the youngest son.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A trainee in a business or profession.^(RHWU)

+ # ''(slang)'' A pimp.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cadetship]]

+ * [[space cadet]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cadette]]

+ * [[caddie]]

+ * [[cad]]

+ * [[capital]]

+ * [[chief]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}