somebody training to be an officer in the armed forces or the police force
a young person receiving basic military training, esp at school
formal or archaic a younger son
a younger brother or son
a younger branch of a family, or a member of that branch
cadetship noun
French cadet younger son, from French dialect capdet, literally ‘little chief’, ultimately from Latin caput head. It was a common practice before the Revolution for younger sons of the French nobility to join the army without a commission and try to advance themselves by ability and experience. This led to the idea of a trainee or unskilled assistant, and hence to caddie1 and cad