Merriam-Webster Word of the Day - Cadre

WORD OF THE DAY March 21, 2018

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cadre    noun | KAD-ray     Definition   1 : a nucleus or core group especially of trained personnel able to assume control and to train others; broadly : a group of people having some unifying relationship   2 : a cell of indoctrinated leaders active in promoting the interests of a revolutionary party   3 : a member of a cadre   4 : frame, framework   Scroll down for more about cadre      TRENDING NOW: terrorism candor feminism white lie SEE ALL      PEOPLE ARE READING   The History of 'Hot Mess'     ‘Fatal’ vs. ‘Fateful’     10 Word Histories from the U.S. Congress     Does 'Implicit' Mean "Wholehearted" or "Implied"?         WORD GAMES AND QUIZZES: WEEKLY CHALLENGE   Confusing Words—A Quiz   Test your knowledge of these commonly confused words!     PLAY NOW     Nailed this quiz? We have plenty more to try!  TAKE ME THERE         Did You Know?   To understand cadre, we must first square our understanding of the word's Latin roots. Cadre traces to the Latin quadrum, meaning "square." Squares can make good frameworks—a fact that makes it easier to understand why first French speakers and later English speakers used cadre as a word meaning "framework." If you think of a core group of officers in a regiment as the framework that holds things together for the unit, you'll understand how the "personnel" sense of cadre developed. Military leaders and their troops are well-trained and work together as a unified team, which may explain why cadre is now sometimes used more generally to refer to any group of people who have some kind of unifying characteristic, even if they aren't leaders.     Examples of CADRE   "As an articulate woman proposing solutions to the ills of society, Lucy was no lone figure on the city's political landscape. Still, within a public arena of competing ideas and legislative initiatives, she occupied a prominent niche—a revolutionary cadre of one—and fought to stay in the headlines and on the front page." — Jacqueline Jones, Goddess of Anarchy, 2017   "As Jon Gruden continues to build his coaching staff, his latest hire fits right in with the cadre of football minds with whom Gruden has had extensive experience. He has hired long time draft prep training specialist, Tom Shaw as the team's strength coach." — Pro Football Weekly, 15 Feb. 2018   Test Your Vocabulary   Fill in the blanks to complete a noun that refers to the act or process of orienting and training a new employee: o _ _ o _ rd _ n _.   VIEW THE ANSWER           MERCH     Show Your Wordie Pride!   New swag now available — featuring our newly added words welp and wordie   CHECK OUT OUR SELECTION