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/.

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

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 of hamadryad

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.
The Haunting of Low Fennel
Sax Rohmer
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

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

Word Origin and History for hamadryad

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