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definitions

cadge

1
[kaj]
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verb (used with object), cadged, cadg·ing.

to obtain by imposing on another's generosity or friendship.
to borrow without intent to repay.
to beg or obtain by begging.

verb (used without object), cadged, cadg·ing.

to ask, expect, or encourage another person to pay for or provide one's drinks, meals, etc.
to beg.

RELATED WORDS

scrounge, hawk, sponge, bum, peddle, huckster, panhandle, mooch

Nearby words

  1. cadential,
  2. cadenza,
  3. cadet,
  4. cadet cloth,
  5. cadette,
  6. cadger,
  7. cadgy,
  8. cadi,
  9. cadillac,
  10. cadillac, antoine de la mothe

Origin of cadge

1
1275–1325; perhaps to be identified with Middle English caggen to tie, of uncertain origin
Related formscadg·er, noun

cadge

2
[kaj]

noun Falconry.

a frame on which hawks are carried to the field.

Origin of cadge

2
First recorded in 1605–15; apparently variant of cage
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cadge

British Dictionary definitions for cadge

cadge

verb

to get (food, money, etc) by sponging or begging

noun

British a person who cadges
on the cadge British informal engaged in cadging

Word Origin for cadge

C17: of unknown origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for cadge

cadge

v.

"to beg" (1812), "to get by begging" (1848), of uncertain origin, perhaps a back-formation from cadger "itinerant dealer with a pack-horse," mid-15c., which is perhaps from early 14c. cadge "to fasten, to tie," of unknown origin.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper