A variant spelling of caddis; the larva of a caddisfly, or the protective case it builds from plant and mineral debris.
Early English spelling variant of 'caddis', reflecting inconsistencies in Early Modern English orthography when standardized spelling had not yet developed. The origin of 'caddis' itself is unclear but may relate to fabric terms (cadis is a type of cloth), possibly because the larval cases resemble woven material.
Medieval and Renaissance English had wild spelling variations—the same word could be spelled five different ways in the same book! 'Caddice' and 'caddis' coexisted because before dictionaries standardized spelling, writers spelled phonetically. These variants preserve evidence of how English was actually pronounced in different regions.
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