Another look at the Etymology of Cerberus.

I have been wondering on the name of the Hellhound Cerberus () and Yama's hound
Sarvar of which etymologists say are cognates and that both mean "spotted" for example; "the word
*kkrberos 'spotted' would seem to underlie the names of both the Greek hound of Hades ... and the
epithet of one of the dogs of Yama, the Indic god of the dead" (Mallory & Adams Introduction to ProtoIndo-European p411). The possible etymon as spotted is strengthened by the description of Yamas
hounds as sabla spotted as pointed out by M. L. West (Indo-European Poetry and Myth p392) who
writes that this Sanskrit adjective has been suggested, was a deformation of a similar form *sarbra-,
corresponding etymologically to .
It was Francis Wilford (1761 -1822) who first identified Cerberus with Yamas hound and he is credited
by F. Max Muller. Wilford listed some names and epithets of these hounds and stated that they were
all signifying stained or spotted. This is quoted in Mullers essay Bellerophon (Selected Essays on
Language, Mythology and Religion V1 p493) Yet, if we read Mullers own words on the etymology of
Cerberus we find that he considered the original meaning to have been dark or pale and the dark
one, the dog of night (p494). This certainly, sounds more like a frightening name than merely
spotted which is neither gloomy nor scary. Anyway, if we keep to the etymon as spotted we could
return to Wilfords stained which could be blood-stained and therefore perhaps the spotted is flecks
of gore?
If we return to Wests book we note he relates Cerberus to the Old Norse Hellhound, whom he
describes as having bloody marks on its chest (p392), and we see this observation is from the Eddic
poem below where the hellhound - here unnamed - met by the god Odin/Othin is described thus;
2. Then Othin rose, | the enchanter old,
And the saddle he laid | on Sleipnir's back;
Thence rode he down | to Niflhel deep,
And the hound he met | that came from Hell.
3. Bloody he was | on his breast before, [S vas blugr | of brjst framan]
At the father of magic | he howled from afar;
Forward rode Othin, | the earth resounded
Till the house so high | of Hel he reached. (Baldrs Draumar)
So bloody // on his breast therefore Wilfords stained? Let us look at Cerberus in Classical myth as
he was said to devour souls in Hades e.g. in Latin;
I caught a glimpse of Tartarus deep below, and of Cerberus waiting to make a meal of me to relieve
his hunger. (Apuleius, The Golden Ass 1. 15)
And in Greek, of devouring those attempting to escape from Hades;
he will not let them go back out, but lies in wait for them and eats them up... (Hesiod, Theogony
769)
Now we are aware of how the Eddic hellhound became bloody // on his breast as he has been
devouring mens souls!
So, why not rather than simply "spotted" consider Cerberus originally to have meant "bespattered
[with blood]" which is surely more fitting this terrifying Hellhound with its jaws and breast stained with
the blood of doomed souls?

Bibliography:
Original poetry;
The Poetic Edda, Old Norse English Diglot; https://www.scribd.com/doc/40146250/Poetic-EddaOld-Norse-English-diglot. Specifically the poem Baldrs Draumar.
The quotes from Apuleius and Hesiod are found here; http://www.theoi.com/Ther/KuonKerberos.html

Secondary sources;
J. P. Mallory & D. Q. Adams (2006) The Oxford Introduction to Proto-European and the ProtoEuropean World.
F. Max Muller (1881) Selected Essays on Language, Mythology and Religion, Volume 1.
M. L. West (2007) Indo-European Poetry and Myth.