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hamadryad

[ham-uh-drahy-uh d, -ad]
noun, plural ham·a·dry·ads, ham·a·dry·a·des [ham-uh-drahy-uh-deez] /ˌhæm əˈdraɪ əˌdiz/.
  1. Classical Mythology. a dryad who is the spirit of a particular tree.
  2. king cobra.
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Origin of hamadryad

< Latin, stem of Hamādryas wood nymph < Greek, equivalent to hama together with (cognate with same) + dryás dryad
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for hamadryad

Historical Examples

  • However it may be, the Burman is not ready to kill the hamadryad.

    The Soul of a People

    H. Fielding

  • It is a place in which a poet might look for a glimpse of a Hamadryad.

    Gryll Grange

    Thomas Love Peacock

  • It is like the bite of a hamadryad,” he said softly, “but there is no mark.

  • Every tree has a Hamadryad, who lives in it, who is born when it first grows, and who dies when it dies.

    Gods and Heroes

    R. E. Francillon

  • The Hamadryad was born with the tree, flourished and died with it.

    The Student's Mythology

    Catherine Ann White

British Dictionary definitions for hamadryad

hamadryad

noun
  1. classical myth one of a class of nymphs, each of which inhabits a tree and dies with it
  2. another name for king cobra
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Word Origin

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

Word Origin and History for hamadryad

n.

late 14c., from Greek hamadryas (plural hamadryades) "wood-nymph," fabled to die with her tree, from hama "together" (see same) + drus (genitive dryos) "tree."

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper