ham·a·dry·ad

(hăm′ə-drī′əd)

n. pl. ham·a·dry·ads or ham·a·dry·a·des (-ə-dēz′)

1. Greek & Roman Mythology A wood nymph who lives only as long as the tree of which she is the spirit lives.

[Middle English amadriad, from Latin Hamadryas, Hamadryad-, from Greek Hamadruas : hama, together with; see sem- in Indo-European roots + Druas, dryad (from drūs, oak; see deru- in Indo-European roots).]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

hamadryad

(ˌhæməˈdraɪəd; -æd)

1. (Classical Myth & Legend) classical myth one of a class of nymphs, each of which inhabits a tree and dies with it

2. (Animals) another name for king cobra

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

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ham•a•dry•ad

(ˌhæm əˈdraɪ əd, -æd)

n., pl. -ads, -a•des (-əˌdiz)

1. a dryad who was the spirit of a particular tree and lived only as long as the tree.

2. king cobra.

[1350–1400; Middle English < Latin, s. of Hamādryas wood nymph < Greek, =hama together with (c. same) + dryás dryad]

hamadryad

a dryad that is the spirit of a particular tree.

See also: Mythology

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	hamadryad - the nymph or spirit of a particular tree dryad, wood nymph - a deity or nymph of the woods
	2.	hamadryad - large cobra of southeastern Asia and the East Indies; the largest venomous snake; sometimes placed in genus Naja king cobra, Naja hannah, Ophiophagus hannah cobra - venomous Asiatic and African elapid snakes that can expand the skin of the neck into a hood genus Ophiophagus, Ophiophagus - king cobra

Translations

hamadríada

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

And driven the Hamadryad from the wood To seek a shelter in some happier star?

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You will look like a tall Hamadryad, dark and strong and noble, just issued from one of the fir-trees, when the stems are casting their afternoon shadows on the grass."

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The nymph with the bodice of oaken bark (she was the hamadryad of an oak) threw a handful of acorns among them; and the two and twenty hogs scrambled and fought for the prize, as if they had tasted not so much as a noggin of sour milk for a twelvemonth.

This was proved by the hamadryad, who, being exceedingly fond of mischief, threw another handful of acorns before the twenty- two newly-restored people; whereupon down they wallowed in a moment, and gobbled them up in a very shameful way.

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It seemed as if the hamadryad of the oak had sheltered herself from the unimaginative world within the heart of her native tree, and that it was only necessary to remove the strange shapelessness that had incrusted her, and reveal the grace and loveliness of a divinity.

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In the shadowed spots fauns and hamadryads wooed, unconscious of the gaze of mortal eyes.

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Walking through the woods he almost expects to catch glimpses of hamadryads peering from their trees, nymphs rising from the fountains, and startled fauns with shaggy skins and cloven feet scurrying away among the bushes.

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So congratulations are due to a brilliant team of volunteers who tackled the trash at Hamadryad Park in Cardiff.

Britain's wastelands; EXCLUSIVE: PLASTIC BLIGHT IN OUR PARKS; Volunteers clear rubbish threatening wildlife

After Erysichthon commits a deliberate act of sacrilege by taking his axe to one of the goddess Ceres's sacred oaks (thereby also killing the hamadryad who dwelt within this tree), the harvest goddess duly punishes him.

Ovidian Retro-Metamorphosis on the Elizabethan Stage

Ysgol Gymraeg Hamadryad is expected to open in Butetown after Christmas, while Cardiff West Community High School is planned to move to its new home in Caerau during the Easter school holidays next spring.

Primary schools a state-of-the-art will provide experience

The eighth annual march from Cathays Park to Hamadryad Park in Cardiff Bay was organised by the Cardiff Cannabis Social Club as one of a number of events under the banner of the Global Marijuana March.

MARCHERS TAKE CANNABIS PLEA TO CITY STREETS

Since 1995 the following hospitals have closed: Cardiff Royal Infirmary, Cardiff Royal Infirmary West Wing, St David's Hospital, Prince of Wales Hospital (Rhydlaver), Sully Hospital, Lansdowne Hospital, Whitchurch Hospital, Royal Hamadryad Hospital and St Mary's Hospital.

South Wales Echo letters: Monday, January 22, 2018; Your letters to the South Wales Echo