1470-80; <
Medieval Latin (Geoffrey of Monmouth)
Uthyrpendragun Uther Pendragon, taken as
Medieval Welsh pen(
n) head +
*dragun <
Late Latin dracōnēs, plural of
dracō military standard,
Latin: serpent,
dragon (hence, chief or head standard), though the compound is unattested in Welsh sources outside of translations of Geoffrey of Monmouth