HAMADRYAD

hamadryad, king cobra, Ophiophagus hannah, Naja hannah

(noun) large cobra of southeastern Asia and the East Indies; the largest venomous snake; sometimes placed in genus Naja

hamadryad

(noun) the nymph or spirit of a particular tree

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Noun

hamadryad (plural hamadryads or hamadryades)

(Greek mythology) A wood-nymph who was physically a part of her tree; she would die if her tree were felled.

The king cobra.

A kind of baboon, Papio hamadryas, venerated by the ancient Egyptians.

Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genera Hamadryas and Tellervo.

Source: Wiktionary

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Ham"a*dry`ad, n.; pl. E. Hamadryads, L. Hamadryades. Etym: [L. Hamadryas, -adis, Gr. hamadryade. See Same, and Tree.]

1. (Class. Myth.)

Definition: A tree nymph whose life ended with that of the particular tree, usually an oak, which had been her abode.

2. (Zoöl.)

Definition: A large venomous East Indian snake (Orhiophagus bungarus), allied to the cobras.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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