Cantabs - American Education

A nickname for students and graduates of Harvard College, the first college founded in the American colonies. Derived from Cantabrigia, the Latin name of Cambridge, England, Cantabs is short for Cantabrigians, or the resident of Cambridge and students at Cambridge University. First used in 1540, the name was accorded to students at Harvard after its founding in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1636, when Latin was still the language of instruction.