*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Cavan

Borrowed from Irish an Cabhán.

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
name

A county of Ireland. · The county town of County Cavan, Ireland (Irish grid ref H 4104). · A locality in the Yass Valley council area, south eastern New South Wales, Australia. · A northern suburb of Adelaide in the City of Salisbury, South Australia.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Irish an Cabhán.

This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "ga:Cabhán<alt:an Cabhán>",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"an Cabhán\", \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Irish\", \"term\" : \"Cabhán\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"ga\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"Cavan\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"Cavan\">\nBorrowed from Irish an Cabhán."
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "ga:Cabhán<alt:an Cabhán>",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Irish an Cabhán."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "an Cabhán",
      "Cabhán#Irish"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A county of Ireland.",
        "The county town of County Cavan, Ireland (Irish grid ref H 4104).",
        "A locality in the Yass Valley council area, south eastern New South Wales, Australia.",
        "A northern suburb of Adelaide in the City of Salisbury, South Australia."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "4a1a2dd154aae40f932d31f19f3a2fb28f4892997b876919e1429fc2cbbe6a88",
      "rawRecordSha256": "93e3b5d711ba011cb18dffdf2b6addcecc052ac181787df5e79df41d18c24a02",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 847046
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 1,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
name

A surname.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Various origins: * Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Caomháin (“descendant of Caomhán”), a diminutive form of the personal name Caomh. * Borrowed from Cebuano Cavan, a surname of unexplained origin.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ga",
        "3": "Ó Caomháin",
        "4": "",
        "5": "descendant of Caomhán"
      },
      "expansion": "Irish Ó Caomháin (“descendant of Caomhán”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ceb",
        "3": "Cavan"
      },
      "expansion": "Cebuano Cavan"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Ó Caomháin",
      "Ó Caomháin#Irish"
    ],
    [
      "Caomh",
      "Caomh#Irish"
    ],
    [
      "Cavan",
      "Cavan#Cebuano"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A surname."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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    }
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    "lexicalSenses": 0,
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  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Cavan →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
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Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-Q2F2YW4