1565–75; < Middle French < Provençal; akin to Late Latin catanum; perhaps originally a plant name in a substratum language of the Alps and Pyrenees
1425–75; late Middle English cad ( e ), of obscure origin
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
While it's simple to trace some origin lines, for example that of cade, which Niçois workers who arrived in Toulon to work in the arsenal in the 19th century, others are blurred.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2022
These days, you'll find farinata or tarta cauda in Liguria, belecauda in southern Piedmont, cade in Toulon, cecina in Tuscany, and calentica in Algeria.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2022
It has decidedly masculine tones of whisky, musky ambrette seeds and a smokiness from cade wood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2018
At the White House, after Kennedy had indicated that he would run, Lyndon Johnson lowered his cheerful fa cade.
From Time Magazine Archive
There is a proverb "Entre le due Madonne cade la pioggia," the greatest rainfall occurring between the two festivals.
From The Shores of the Adriatic The Austrian Side, The Küstenlande, Istria, and Dalmatia by Jackson, F. Hamilton (Frederick Hamilton)
Texas State sophomore right-hander Cade Smith then hit Adrian Lopez with a pitch and walked Augie Lopez to load the bases.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026
Jaxson Neckien and Cade Atkinson each had two hits for Westlake.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2026
Forward Paolo Banchero starred with 23 points, nine rebounds and four assists, to help the Magic overshadow Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham's play-off best haul of 39 points.
From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2026
Meanwhile, one of the Lake De Cade camp owners has sued Sleca, seeking class-action status for damages from the loss of electricity, including cratered resale values.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026
Cade navigated by aiming his steering wheel toward two pinpoints of red—the taillights on whatever car was driving ahead of us.
From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith
They also enabled her to make one of the biggest breakthroughs in ocean noise research in de cades.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 9, 2013
Of increasing interest and worry to scientists is what the cumulative impact of de cades of constant low- level noise can do.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 9, 2013
As the British withdrew behind barri cades to the piers where their transports lay waiting, units of the U.N.
From Time Magazine Archive
We are not told the prices of tammies or durants, romals or molletons, cades or shalloons, but we are always carefully informed that they may be had at the lowest prices.
From Picturesque Quebec : a sequel to Quebec past and present by Le Moine, J. M. (James MacPherson), Sir
But, for your further enlightenment, let us pretend that Sextus Tarquinius, coming to Delphi to consult the Oracle of Apollo, receives the answer: Exul inopsque cades irata pulsus ab urbe.
From Theodicy Essays on the Goodness of God, the Freedom of Man and the Origin of Evil by Huggard, E.M.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
