Bedouin

American  

[bed-oo-in, bed-win] / ˈbɛd u ɪn, ˈbɛd wɪn /

Or Beduin

noun

plural

Bedouins,

plural

Bedouin

1. an Arab of the desert, in Asia or Africa; nomadic Arab.

2. a nomad; wanderer.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the Bedouin.

Bedouin British  

/ ˈbɛdʊɪn /

noun

1. a member of any of the nomadic tribes of Arabs inhabiting the deserts of Arabia, Jordan, and Syria, as well as parts of the Sahara

2. a wanderer or rover

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Bedouins

2. wandering or roving

Other Word Forms

• Bedouinism noun

Etymology

Origin of Bedouin

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English Bedoynes (plural), from Old French beduyn (singular), from Arabic badawīn “desert-dwellers,” plural of badawī, equivalent to badw “desert” + -ī a suffix indicating relationship or origin; in the Western languages, the Arabic plural form -īn was interpreted to be part of the basic form

Example Sentences

Clashes erupted last July in southern Syria between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin tribes.

From Barron's • Feb. 20, 2026

Other armed actors include members of long-established Gaza families and Bedouin clans, some with ties to Sinai.

From Barron's • Oct. 25, 2025

It is also home to a traditional Bedouin community, the Jebeleya tribe.

From BBC • Sep. 6, 2025

A truce halted the clashes — which began this month between Bedouin clans and the Druze religious minority — but the tallying of the losses continues.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 25, 2025

The idea that someone should have been feeding them seemed to dawn on the Bedouin raiders all at once.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri