What does a cabinet mean when talking about the government and Barack Obama?

Answer 1

While the word "cabinet" came later, the existence of top-level presidential advisers is mentioned in the Constitution. In fact, the tradition of appointing such federal advisers to be in charge of important departments in the government goes back to George Washington, who appointed a Secretary of State, a Secretary of the Treasury, and several others. The members of the cabinet were all men until the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the early 1930s-- he appointed the first woman, Frances Perkins, as his Secretary of Labor. I enclose a link to President Obama's current cabinet.