"pertaining to Cambridge," 1540s, from Medieval Latin Cantabrigia (see Cambridge) + -an. The shortened form Cantab is attested from 1750 as "member or graduate of the University of Cambridge."
Entries linking to cantabrigian
Cambridge
city in eastern England, Old English Grontabricc (c. 745) "Bridge on the River Granta" (a Celtic river name, of obscure origin). The change to Cante- and later Cam- was due to Norman influence. The river name Cam is a back-formation in this case, but Cam also was a legitimate Celtic river name, meaning "crooked." The university dates to 1209. Cambridge in Massachusetts, U.S., originally was New Towne but was renamed 1638 after the founding there of Harvard College, John Harvard being a graduate of Cambridge in England.
-an
word-forming element meaning "pertaining to," from Latin -anus, adjective suffix, in some cases via French -ain, -en. From PIE *-no-.