hamadryad

[ ham-uh-drahy-uhd, -ad ]

/ ˌhæm əˈdraɪ əd, -æd /

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noun, plural ham·a·dry·ads, ham·a·dry·a·des

[ham-uh-drahy-uh-deez]. /ˌhæm əˈdraɪ əˌdiz/.

Classical Mythology. a dryad who is the spirit of a particular tree.

king cobra.

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Origin of hamadryad

<Latin, stem of Hamādryas wood nymph <Greek, equivalent to hama together with (cognate with same) + dryásdryad

Words nearby hamadryad

halyard, Halysites, ham, Hama, Hamadan, hamadryad, hamadryas, hamadryas baboon, hamal, Hamamatsu, hamamelidaceous

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use hamadryad in a sentence

Pomona was a Hamadryad, and was so devoted to the care of her trees that she scorned the idea of love.
Stories of Old Greece and Rome|Emilie Kip Baker
Such a sad mistake did Dryope once make, and suffered for her carelessness by being changed from a mortal into a Hamadryad.
Stories of Old Greece and Rome|Emilie Kip Baker
It is like the bite of a hamadryad,” he said softly, “but there is no mark.
The Haunting of Low Fennel|Sax Rohmer
The Hamadryad was born with the tree, flourished and died with it.
The Student's Mythology|Catherine Ann White

The hamadryad, as you probably know, is perhaps the deadliest of all Eastern reptiles.
Where the Strange Trails Go Down|E. Alexander Powell

British Dictionary definitions for hamadryad

hamadryad

/ (ˌhæməˈdraɪəd, -æd) /

noun

classical myth one of a class of nymphs, each of which inhabits a tree and dies with it

another name for king cobra

Word Origin for hamadryad

C14: from Latin Hamādryas, from Greek Hamadruas, from hama together with + drus tree; see dryad

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