dromedary
UK /ˈdɹɒmɪdəɹi/ · US /ˈdɹɑməˌdɛɹi/ noun, proper noun
Forms dromedaries dromedarie
- noun The single-humped camel (Camelus dromedarius).
- noun Any swift riding camel.
- noun (medicine, dated, attributively) Referring to a biphasic clinical course of poliomyelitis, typically occurring in children, characterized by a minor illness, followed by an asymptomatic period of several days before the onset of a major illness involving the central nervous system.
- proper noun A locality in Brighton council area and the Southern Midlands council area, south eastern Tasmania, Australia.
Synonyms
Arabian camel dromedarian dromedary camel Somali camel Camelus dromedarius
Etymology
From Middle English dromedari, dromedarie (“dromedary; any camel”) [and other forms], from Old French dromedaire, from Late Latin dromedārius (“kind of camel”), from Latin *dromadārius, from dromas, dromadis (“dromedary”) + -ārius (suffix forming nouns denoting agents of use). Dromas and dromadis are derived from Ancient Greek δρομᾰ́ς (dromắs, “running; dromedary”), an ellipsis of δρομὰς κάμηλος (dromàs kámēlos, “running camel”), from δρόμος (drómos, “race, running; race course, track”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *drem- (“to run”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun The Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius), having one hump or protuberance on the back, in distinction from the Bactrian camel, which has two humps.
Etymology [F. dromadaire, LL. dromedarius, fr. L. dromas (sc. camelus), fr. Gr. dram to run.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “dromedary”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details