hamadryas baboon

noun

hama·dry·as baboon ˌha-mə-ˈdrī-əs-

: a baboon (Papio hamadryas) that has a reddish-pink muzzle and a large bare patch of pink skin on each buttock and that was venerated by the ancient Egyptians

called also sacred baboon

Examples of hamadryas baboon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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Some of these pastoralists eventually settled in oases along the Nile River, but these areas were outside the natural ranges of olive or hamadryas baboons. —

Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 12 Feb. 2024 And are hamadryas baboons distinctive in this regard? —

Nathaniel J. Dominy, Scientific American, 1 Nov. 2021 Archaeologists have long puzzled over the prominence of the hamadryas baboon in ancient Egyptian culture. —

Nathaniel J. Dominy, Scientific American, 1 Nov. 2021 The remains belong to a hamadryas baboon discovered by 19th century archaeologists in the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes. —

Colin Barras, Science | AAAS, 15 Dec. 2020 At California’s Oakland Zoo, a troop of hamadryas baboons seemed listless, with many of them in hiding at the height of a partial eclipse there that darkened the skies like sunset. —

Robert Lee Hotz, WSJ, 21 Aug. 2017

Word History

Etymology

New Latin hamadryas, from Latin

First Known Use

circa 1890, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of hamadryas baboon was circa 1890

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Hamadryas baboon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hamadryas%20baboon. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.

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