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hamadryas

British

/ ˌhæməˈdraɪəs /

noun

Also called: hamadryas baboon. sacred baboon. a baboon, Papio (or Comopithecus ) hamadryas, of Arabia and NE Africa, having long silvery hair on the head, neck, and chest: regarded as sacred by the ancient Egyptians: family Cercopithecidae

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of hamadryas

C19: via New Latin from Latin; see _hamadryad

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Female hamadryas baboons given hormonal contraception lived 29 percent longer, while castrated males lived 19 percent longer.

From Science Daily • Jan. 16, 2026

Thoth, the god of learning and wisdom was represented by a hamadryas baboon.

From Science Daily • Oct. 24, 2023

Feeding observations reveal that hamadryas baboons eat more leafy plant tissues than olive baboons do, which means their diet is higher in fiber.

From Scientific American • Nov. 17, 2021

In their efforts to decode the significance of the hamadryas baboon, scholars have considered the way it is depicted in Egyptian art, noting two iconic forms.

From Scientific American • Nov. 17, 2021

Lastly, in the Baboon family, the adult male of Cynocephalus hamadryas differs from the female not only by his immense mane, but slightly in the colour of the hair and of the naked callosities.

From The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex Volume II (1st Edition) by Darwin, Charles

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023