Re: Oedipus

> So far as I can tell, there is no <cadfan> 'warrior'; there
> is a <cadfan> 'battlefield', and there is a masculine name
> <Cadfan>. And there's a plural noun <cadfaon> 'soldiers,
> warriors'; I'm not aware of a singular form.

The -faon (un-lenited form = maon) in this instance comes from
Brittonic *magones "host, servants".

> > and Cadmon, Catumanus, etc ?
>
> The first element is in each case from PCelt. *katu-
> 'battle' < PIE *katu- 'fight'. <Catumanus> is a Latinized
> version of <Catumannos>, from *Catumandos; this is the
> source of the name <Cadfan>, and <Cædmon> is an OE
> borrowing. The second element has been derived from the
> zero grade of *mendH- 'to learn', with some such sense as
> 'qui est prudent, sage'.

It is not 100% that OE Caedmon is a loan - it can be etymologized as
a purely Germanic name.

- Chris Gwinn