cadet

¹

[ kuh-det ]

noun

1. a student in a national service academy or private military school or on a training ship.
2. a student in training for service as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army, Air Force, or Coast Guard. Compare midshipman ( def 1 ).
3. a trainee in a business or profession.
4. a younger son or brother.
5. the youngest son.
6. (formerly) a gentleman, usually a younger son, who entered the army to prepare for a subsequent commission.
7. Also called cadet blue. a grayish to strong blue color.
8. Also called cadet gray. a bluish-gray to purplish-blue color.
9. Slang. a pimp.

Cadet

²

[ kuh-det ]

noun

Russian History.

1. a member of the former Constitutional Democratic Party.

cadet

/ kəˈdɛt /

noun

1. a young person undergoing preliminary training, usually before full entry to the uniformed services, police, etc, esp for officer status
2. a school pupil receiving elementary military training in a school corps
3. (in England and in France before 1789) a gentleman, usually a younger son, who entered the army to prepare for a commission
4. a younger son or brother
5. cadet branch
   the family or family branch of a younger son
6. (in New Zealand) a person learning sheep farming on a sheep station

Derived Forms

• caˈdetship, noun

Other Word Forms

• ca·det·ship noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of cadet¹

1600–10; < French < Gascon capdet chief, captain (referring to the younger sons of noble families); compare Old Provençal capdel headman < Latin capitellum literally, small head; capital ²

Origin of cadet²

< Russian kadét, equivalent to ka + de (the letter names of k, d, representing konstitutsiónnyĭ demokrát Constitutional Democrat) + -t from kadét (now obsolete) cadet

Word History and Origins

Origin of cadet¹

C17: from French, from dialect (Gascon) capdet captain, ultimately from Latin caput head

Example Sentences

Instead, the young Mario embraced it further, producing novelitas — little novels — to entertain his fellow cadets, and running a small enterprise that consisted of writing love letters in exchange for cigarettes.

From Los Angeles Times

On Sunday, Phoebe Beltran was completing her swim test for the cadet junior lifeguard program near 2100 Ocean Boulevard, she told The Times.

From Los Angeles Times

On the day he was to put on his cadet uniform for the first time, the school declared him medically ineligible because of his childhood disease.

From Los Angeles Times

“Time for a sidebar,” she said, as we all huddled around our dating cadets for a quick assessment and to provide tips to steer the course of the conversation.

From Los Angeles Times

During the trial, which spanned five weeks, the court heard from Lagan College pupils and Army cadets who said that Beckett had hugged them, kissed them, touched their thighs and tickled them.

From BBC

Related Words

• student
• youth