In
genealogy, a cadet is a younger
son, as opposed to the firstborn
heir
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...
.
Etymology
The word has been recorded in
English since 1634, originally for a young son, identical to the
French, which is itself derived from the
Gascon Occitan (spoken in
Gascony in southwest France) ''capdet'' "captain, chief", in turn from the
Late Latin , the diminutive of Latin "head" (hence also chief).
Younger sons from Gascon families were apparently commonly sent to the French court to serve as officers; as a rule, non-heirs from the European nobility sought careers in the military or the clergy.
Usage
As an adjective, "cadet" is used to signify a junior branch of a family. Thus, the
Orléans line was a ''
cadet branch'' of the
Bourbon family, which itself was a ''
cadet branch'' of the
House of Capet.
For the status as such, the noun
cadency exists, as in the
heraldic term
mark of cadency, for a feature which distinguishes a cadet son's
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
from the father's which is passed on unaltered only to the (usually firstborn) heir.
Military has been the traditional career choice of the nobility throughout the centuries, and it has been customary that the firstborn son inherited the title, lands and possessions, while the younger sons of a noble family went to the military, often to be trained as officers. Hence the meaning "
cadet branch" for a junior branch of a family and the term "
cadet" for an officer trainee.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cadet (Genealogy)
Genealogy
Kinship and descent