Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Caddy \Cad"dy\, n.; pl. Caddies. [Earlier spelt catty, fr. Malay kat[=i] a weight of 11/3 pounds. Cf. Catty.]
A small box, can, or chest to keep tea in, also called tea caddy.
a container to hold objects when not in use.
(Computers) a container to hold a compact disk, used in some types of compact disk devices, which is inserted into the CD player during playing, or in the case of recordable CD-ROMS, during recording. It is approximately square and thin, slightly larger than the compact disk. However, many CD players have a drawer for the compact disk, requiring no caddy.
Wiktionary
n. A box, tin, jar or pot used to store tea leaves.
WordNet
n. a can for storing tea [syn: caddy]
Wikipedia
A tea caddy is a box, jar, canister, or other receptacle used to store tea.
The word is believed to be derived from catty, the Chinese pound, equal to about a pound and a third avoirdupois. The earliest examples that came to Europe were of Chinese porcelain, and approximated in shape to the ginger-jar. They had lids or stoppers likewise of china, and were most frequently blue and white. Until about 1800 they were called tea canisters rather than caddies.
Earlier tea caddies were made of either porcelain or faience. Later designs had more variety in materials and designs. Wood, pewter, tortoiseshell, brass, copper and even silver were employed, but in the end the material most frequently used was wood, and there still survive vast numbers of Georgian box-shaped caddies in mahogany, rosewood, satin-wood and other timbers. These were often mounted in brass and delicately inlaid, with knobs of ivory, ebony or silver. Many examples were made in Holland, principally of the earthenware of Delft. There were also many English factories producing high quality goods.
As the use of the jar waned and the box increased, the provision of different receptacles for green and black tea was abandoned, and the wooden caddy, with a lid and a lock, was made with two and often three divisions, the centre portion being reserved for sugar. In the late 18th and early 19th century, caddies made from mahogany and rosewood were popular.
The larger varieties were known as tea chests. As tea grew cheaper there was less concern with the appearance of caddies, and as a result they fell out of use.
The use of "tea caddy" instead of "biscuit tin" fell out of use in the early 1900s.
Usage examples of "tea caddy".
Nothing in the tea caddy, apart from the sovereigns, was of any value, but it had all been precious beyond price to the old man.
Edging Miss Livingstone aside, she went to the tea caddy table, raised the lid, looked at the attractive inlaid work inside.
A drawing room with windows draped in layers of cloth, with a bookcase and bubble-back chairs and a mahogany tea caddy.
They are her special marks, and every ruler should have such a mark to prove his power and the rocklike nature of his words Zouga turned and beckoned the bearer who knelt in the gateway behind him and the terrified man crawled to Zouga's feet, not daring to look up at the King, and handed to Zouga the small tea caddy that contained the carved ivory seal and the sticks of wax.
Kneeling before him, Zouga prepared the wax, melting it on to the lid of the tea caddy with a taper lit from the fire.
Then she saw the evidence of the police investigation: tables and chairs pushed up against the wall, the tall Chinese vases on either side of the fireplace shoved into one corner, the antique tea caddy containing her mothers crewelwork spilling bright loops of yarn.