Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A man whose behavior is unprincipled or dishonorable.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A young fellow of the town or vicinage who hangs about a college or university and does chance services for the collegians.
  • noun A boy, a fellow: a general term of slight contempt applied originally to various classes of persons of a low grade.
  • noun A loafer; a hanger-on about inn-yards.
  • noun A passenger taken up surreptitiously by a stage-coach driver for his own perquisite.
  • noun The conductor of an omnibus.
  • noun A mean, vulgar, ill-bred fellow of whatever social rank: a term of great contempt.
  • noun A name in Queensland for the cicada.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun engraving A person who stands at the door of an omnibus to open and shut it, and to receive fares; an idle hanger-on about innyards.
  • noun Cant A lowbred, presuming person; a mean, vulgar fellow.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A person who stands at the door of an omnibus to open and shut it, and to receive fares; an idle hanger-on about innyards.
  • noun A low-bred, presuming person; a mean, vulgar fellow, a seducer.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun someone who is morally reprehensible
  • noun software used in art and architecture and engineering and manufacturing to assist in precision drawing

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Short for caddie.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Short for caddie, from Scots, from French cadet, from dialectal capdet ("chief, captain"), from Latin capitellum, diminutive of caput ("head").

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Examples

  • Mr. TREE, as the titled cad, _Lord Illingworth_, is perfect in make-up and manner.

    Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 104, May 6, 1893 Various 1876

  • Nobody can say that the abominable misconduct of Maulincour -- who is a hopeless "cad" -- is too much punished, though an Englishman may think that Dr. Johnson's receipt of three or four footmen with cudgels, applied repeatedly and unsparingly, would have been better than elaborately prepared accidents and duels, which were too honorable for

    The Thirteen Honor�� de Balzac 1824

  • I do believe, Ralph, that's the very boy you called a cad when you first went to school. "

    Grandmother Dear A Book for Boys and Girls Mrs. Molesworth 1880

  • CAFFERTY: OK, you claim a cad is a better date than a normal guy.

    CNN Transcript Feb 14, 2003 2003

  • I want to write a program in VB. net that should call cad environment to draw a 2d sketch.

    All Discussion Groups: Message List - root 2009

  • WASHINGTON - Pretty much by definition, a man who can be described as a cad is not a wholly admirable human being.

    Nevada Appeal - Top Stories 2009

  • (11Jan08), and also shows the prince calling another cad et a "raghead" - an offensive term for an Arab.

    Entertainment - Female First 2009

  • -- Pretty much by definition, a man who can be described as a cad is not a wholly admirable human being.

    chicagotribune.com - 2009

  • There are three main thin-film technologies in production -- amorphous silicon; cadmium-telluride, known as cad tel; and copper indium gallium selenide, known as CIGS.

    BCBRdaily 2009

  • There are three main thin-film technologies in production -- amorphous silicon; cadmium-telluride, known as cad tel; and copper indium gallium selenide, known as CIGS.

    BCBRdaily 2009

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