A student or graduate of Cambridge University, especially in British academic circles.
Short for 'Cantabrigian,' from Latin 'Cantabrigia' (Cambridge), abbreviated to 'Cant.' plus the suffix '-ab', a term of academic shorthand that became a noun itself.
Universities have created their own secret shorthand—Oxford students are 'Oxonians,' Cambridge students are 'Cantabs,' and Yale students are 'Yalies'—showing how prestigious institutions develop tribal identities even in their nicknames.
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