Wiktionary

caddy

See also: Caddy

English edit

WOTD – 30 May 2023

Pronunciation edit

 
An elaborate caddy (sense 1) for storing tea.[n 1]
 
Caddies (sense 2.2) for holding compact discs (“CDs”). The CDs would not have been removed from the caddies; instead, the caddy containing the CD would have been inserted into a CD drive. Such types of drives were fairly uncommon.
 
Two caddies (sense 2.3) often used to transport items that have been bought from shops.

Etymology 1 edit

An alteration of catty (“(unit of) weight used in China, equivalent to 1⅓ pounds avoirdupois (about 0.605 kilograms)”), borrowed from Malay kati (“weight used in China, Indonesia, and Japan”),[1][2][3] from Tamil கட்டி (kaṭṭi, “measure of weight; clod, lump”), from கட்டு (kaṭṭu, “to coagulate, congeal, or consolidate (into a concretion); to harden”).

Noun edit

caddy (plural caddies)

  2. (also attributively) A small box or tin (can) with a lid for holding dried tea leaves used to brew tea.
    • 2019, Nancy E. Davis, “Afong Moy Presents Chinese Objects for the Home”, in The Chinese Lady: Afong Moy in Early America, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, part II (The Show), page 107:
      The Carneses imported lacquer teapoys in sets. These sets could be easily stacked in a corner of the drawing room and brought out at teatime to hold a teacup, a set, or a caddy. The Carneses purchased lacquered teapoys sets for four dollars in China and probably sold them for twice that amount in America.
  3. (by extension)
    1. A (usually small) box, chest, or tin with a lid, and often with partitions, used to keep things in.
      • 1990, Washingtonian, volume 25, Washington, D.C.: Washington Magazine, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 121:
        A sauce caddy brought with the tacos offers a choice of salsa cruda, a thin puree of tomatillos, and an emulsion of red chilies.
    3. A movable tray or other mechanism for holding (sometimes within a piece of equipment or machinery), securing, and transporting a removable component.
      Place the disc in the DVD caddy.
    5. A lightweight wheeled cart; specifically, one attached to a bicycle as a conveyance for a child, or pulled by hand and used to transport groceries away from a shop.
Alternative forms edit
Derived terms edit
Translations edit

Etymology 2 edit

A variant of caddie (etymology 1).[4]

Noun edit

caddy (plural caddies)

  1. (golf, also attributively) Alternative spelling of caddie (“a person hired to assist a golfer by carrying their golf clubs and providing advice”)
    Caddy, pass me my five iron.
    • 1897 (date written), Paul T. B. Ward, quotee, “19th Hole: The Readers Take Over”, in Sports Illustrated, volume 19, number 4, Chicago, Ill.: Time Inc., published 22 July 1963, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 60:
      As caddy I had to carry the clubs, for there are four varieties almost everyone used, and some used more. Besides doing this, the caddy has to keep score of the number of strokes used, and watch and find each ball.
    • 1921 March, Octavus Roy Cohen, “Follow Through”, in Munsey’s Magazine, volume LXXII, number 2, New York, N.Y.: The Frank A[ndrew] Munsey Company, […], →OCLC, page 370, column 1:
      Then Carter Chapman picked out his putter, stepped confidently up to the ball, sighted once along the ground, and made his stroke. The ball rolled straight as a die toward the caddy who was holding the flag, and tinkled into the cup for a birdie three!
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
alternative spelling of caddie — see caddie

Verb edit

caddy (third-person singular simple present caddies, present participle caddying, simple past and past participle caddied)

  1. (intransitive, golf) Chiefly followed by for: alternative spelling of caddie (“to serve as a caddy (noun sense) for a golfer”)
    I was honored to caddy for Tiger Woods at a charity golf game.
    • 1897 (date written), Paul T. B. Ward, quotee, “19th Hole: The Readers Take Over”, in Sports Illustrated, volume 19, number 4, Chicago, Ill.: Time Inc., published 22 July 1963, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 60:
      We took turns caddying, one caddying, two playing. We went out across the river to the teeing ground of the first hole.
    • 1917 July, George Weston, chapter VI, in The Apple-tree Girl: The Story of Little Miss Moses, who Led Herself into the Promised Land, Philadelphia, Pa., London: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, published 1918, →OCLC, page 100:
      The next day the thirty-two qualifying players were paired off into sixteen sets of opponents. Charlotte was matched against a girl from California. After the first few minutes, the result was never in doubt. "Take it easy, miss," said the highly gratified Mr. Ogilvie, who was caddying for Charlotte. "You hold her in the hollow of your hand."
    • 1923 May 17, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, “Introducing Claude and Eustace”, in The Inimitable Jeeves, Harmondsworth, Middlesex [London]: Penguin Books, published 1979, →ISBN, page 63:
      The scheme had been, if I remember, that after lunch I should go off and caddy for Honoria on a shopping tour down Regent Street; but when she got up and started collecting me and the rest of her things, Aunt Agatha stopped her.
      A transferred use.
Translations edit
alternative spelling of caddie — see caddie

Notes edit

  1. ^ From the collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States.

References edit

  1. ^ “caddy, n.1”, in OED Online  ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2023; “caddy1, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  2. ^ “catty, n.1”, in OED Online  ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2021.
  3. ^ “catty2, n.”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present, reproduced from Stuart Berg Flexner, editor in chief, Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2nd edition, New York, N.Y.: Random House, 1993, →ISBN.
  4. ^ “caddie, n.”, in OED Online  ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2022; “caddy2, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022; “caddy, v.”, in OED Online  ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2022; “caddy2, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading edit

French edit

FWOTD – 16 August 2021

Etymology edit

Borrowed from English caddy. Doublet of cadet.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

caddy m (plural caddies or caddys)

  1. (golf) caddy
    • 2016 [2014], Nora Roberts, Crime en fête, translation of Festive in Death:
      – […] Et puis j’ai discuté avec son caddy.
      [original: Then I talked to his caddy.]
  2. golf cart
  3. shopping trolley, shopping cart
    • 2013, Jussi Adler-Olsen, Délivrance. La troisième enquête du département V:
      La seule incursion féminine dans le sous-sol ce matin-là fut celle d’Yrsa, traînant bruyamment son caddy de supermarché.
      The only woman to set foot in the basement that morning was Yrsa, noisily pulling her supermarket trolley.

Further reading edit

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