caddie

noun

cad·​die ˈka-dē 

variants or caddy

plural caddies

1

Scotland : one who waits about for odd jobs

2

a

: one who assists a golfer especially by carrying the clubs

b

: a wheeled device for conveying things not readily carried by hand

a luggage caddie

caddie intransitive verb

or caddy

Did you know?

In Scotland in the 18th and 19th centuries, a person who made a living by doing odd jobs was called a cawdy or caddie. The word comes from the French word cadet, which came into English in the 17th century. The chief meaning of cadet in both French and English is “a student military officer.” The caddies formed organized groups, and it may be that the military structure of the group suggested the name. Some caddies lived near universities and took jobs working for students. Other caddies found jobs carrying golf clubs. As the popularity of the game grew, so did use of the term caddie for one who carries a golfer's clubs.

Examples of caddie in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Brian Doyle-Murray co-wrote the script, which was inspired by his brother, Ed, who won a caddie scholarship while attending Northwestern University. —Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 28 May 2026

With veteran caddie John Ellis now on the bag, Finau posted a tie for sixth last week at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, one of his best performances in quite some time. —Jeff Goudy, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026

Garrick Higgo parted ways with his caddie after the Tee Time Tragedy of 2026. —Chris Branch, New York Times, 20 May 2026

Garrick Higgo, who was penalized two strokes for missing his opening-round tee time of the PGA Championship last week, has reportedly split from his caddie. —Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 19 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

French cadet military cadet

First Known Use

circa 1730, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for caddie

• addy
• caddy
• daddy
• gaddi
• laddie
• paddy
• granddaddy

Kids Definition

caddie

noun

cad·​die

variants or caddy

ˈkad-ē 

plural caddies

: a person who carries a golfer's clubs

caddie verb

or caddy

Etymology

from Scottish caddie, cawdy "one who works at odd jobs," from French cadet "one training for military service," derived from Latin caput "head" — related to cad, cadet, captain

Word Origin

In Scotland in the 18th and 19th centuries, a person who made a living by doing odd jobs was called a cawdy or caddie. The word caddie comes from the French word cadet, which was borrowed into English in the 17th century. The chief meaning of cadet in both French and English is "a student military officer." The first Scottish caddies formed an organized group, and it may be that the somewhat military structure of the group suggested the name. These caddies looked for odd jobs wherever they could, and after a time the name spread from Scotland into England. Some of the caddies lived near the English universities and took jobs working for students. With scorn the students referred to the lower-class caddies as cads. Then they used the term for any person they thought of as having poor manners. That is how we get our modern English word cad for "a rude and selfish man." Other caddies found jobs carrying clubs for players of golf, which began in Scotland. As the popularity of golf grew, so did use of caddie for one who carries a golfer's clubs.