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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

The abrupt appearance of P. hamadryas in these funerary contexts suggests that it was imported at great expense.

From Scientific American • Nov. 17, 2021

The tomb of Amenhotep II’s father, Thutmose III, contained a P. hamadryas skull that had apparently been unwrapped and then jettisoned by discriminating tomb raiders.

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 by Darwin, Charles

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