Δαμνονιοι
Attested: Ptolemy 2,3,9 and 2,3,11 Δαμνονιοι with 6 πολεις: Κολανι(κ)α (probably Croy Hill on the Antonine Wall), Ουανδογαρα (probably Kemp Law, near Troon), Κορια (possibly Hamilton Mote Hill, near Glasgow), Λινδον (Malling, next to Lake Menteith), and Ουικτωρια (probably Dunning). Probably not Dannoni in the Ravenna Cosmography
Where: People in central Scotland, around the Antonine Wall.
Name Origin: PIE *demə- ‘to tame’ led to Greek δαμναω ‘to tame, subdue’ and to Latin damno ‘to cause harm, to condemn’, which was loaned into Irish as damnaid ‘to punish’. This sounds like a description of the fate of warriors who fought the pitched battle at Mons Graupius.
Notes: Irish damna ‘heir, source material, primal matter’ does not obviously descend from that ‘tame, condemn’ root, but might perhaps fit autochthonous people. Pokorny (but not eDil) translated damnaim as ‘to train horses’. Other (unlikely) parallels include daemon. A link to the West Country Dumnonii would run contrary to Tacitus' comment about the Caledonians' appearance.
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