caddie

Meanings

1. Synonym of cadet (“a gentleman (often a younger son from a noble family) who joined the military without a commission as a career”).
2. A young man; a boy, a lad; specifically (derogatory), one regarded as of low social status; a ragamuffin.
3. A person engaged to run errands such as carrying goods and messages; a commissionaire, an errand boy or errand girl, a gofer; specifically, a member of an organized group of such persons working in large Scottish cities and towns in the early 18th century.
4. A person hired to assist a golfer by carrying their golf clubs and providing advice.

1. Chiefly followed by for: to serve as a caddie (noun etymology 1, noun sense 2) for a golfer.

1. Alternative spelling of caddy.

1. Alternative form of Caddy (“diminutive of female name Caroline”).

Etymology

The noun is borrowed from Scots caddie (“military cadet; young man; ragamuffin; person engaged to run errands; person hired to assist a golfer”), from French cadet (“army cadet; younger sibling”), from capdet (“captain; chief”) (Gascony, archaic), from Late Latin capitettum, from Latin caput (“head”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“head”). Doublet of cadel, cadet, capital, capitellum, and caudillo. The verb is derived from the noun.