dromedary

noun

drom·​e·​dary ˈdrä-mə-ˌder-ē 

 also  ˈdrə-,

-ˌde-rē

plural dromedaries

: the one-humped camel (Camelus dromedarius) currently existing only as a domestic or feral animal

… the one-humped dromedary of the Arabian and African deserts thrives in some of the hottest and driest climates on earth.

—Reuven Yagil

… it was only the introduction of the dromedary to North Africa about the second century A.D. that made feasible in terms of costs and risks regular caravan trade from one rim of the Western Sahara to the other.

—Ross E. Dunn

Examples of dromedary in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But with billions of pieces of data flooding in by car, by plane, by foot, and by dromedary, who decides what gets put on the map? —Sonya Bennett-Brandt, AFAR Media, 25 June 2025

In addition to featuring in pageants and races, historically these single-hump dromedaries have been used for transport across the harsh deserts of the Arabian Peninsula, as well as a source of meat and milk. —Nadia Leigh-Hewitson, CNN, 1 Mar. 2023

The dromedary wasn't real and wasn't in pristine condition. —Sasha Hupka, The Arizona Republic, 2 Feb. 2023

One of the most colorful examples is heat-shock protein in dromedary camels, which play a role in homeostasis and heat tolerance. —Corinne Purtillstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2022

Ancestors of the dromedary and Bactrian varieties familiar today migrated across the Bering Land Bridge, while predecessors of llamas and alpacas moved to South America. —Rachael Lallensack, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Feb. 2022

In this instance, the virus originated in dromedaries, a type of camel. —Michael T. Osterholm, Foreign Affairs, 9 June 2020

Word History

Etymology

Middle English dromedarie, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin dromedarius, from Latin dromad-, dromas, from Greek, running; akin to Greek dramein to run, dromos racecourse, Sanskrit dramati he runs about

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for dromedary

• accessary
• adversary
• ancillary
• arbitrary
• aviary
• axillary
• beriberi
• breviary
• budgetary
• capillary
• catenary
• cautionary

Kids Definition

dromedary

noun

drom·​e·​dary ˈdräm-ə-ˌder-ē 

 also  ˈdrəm-

plural dromedaries

: the one-humped camel of western Asia and northern Africa

called also Arabian camel