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.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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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. 2023

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