bedouin

B3E1D2O1U1I1N1
/ˈbɛd.(ə.)wɪn/

noun

A member of nomadic Arab tribes dwelling in the desert.

Similar
Beduin
OriginOld French beduin ← Arabic بَدَوِيِّين →
Less commonScrabble 10
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Meanings

bedouin1

nounbedouin (plural bedouins)

plural bedouins

  1. Alternative letter-case form of Bedouin

Bedouin2

nounBedouin (plural Bedouins)

plural Bedouins · alternative Bedu · alternative dated Beduin · alternative Bedawin

  1. A member of nomadic Arab tribes dwelling in the desert.

    Motorized nomads, the Bedouin bands near Riyadh may swap their camels for pickup trucks and battery-powered TVs but prefer desert life to a house in town.

    1987 October, Marianne Alireza, “Women of Saudi Arabia”, in National Geographic, volume 172, number 4, page 436

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna member of a nomadic tribe of Arabs

Similar
Beduin
Broader
nomadArabArabian

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Arabicبَدَوِيِّين
  2. Old Frenchbeduin
  3. EnglishBedouin

From Old French beduin (compare French bédouin), from Arabic بَدَوِيِّين (badawiyyīn), plural of بَدَوِيّ (badawiyy), from collective noun بَدْو (badw, “nomads”).

More words from Old French, Arabic

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic بَدَوِيّ, بَدْو
  • بَدَوِيّ (badawiyy)desert-dweller
  • بَدْو (badw)desert-dweller
Bengali বেদুঈন
  • বেদুঈন (beduin)desert-dweller
Bulgarian бедуи́н
  • бедуи́н (beduín)desert-dweller
Catalan beduí
  • beduídesert-dweller
Chinese Mandarin 貝都因人 /贝都因人
  • 貝都因人 /贝都因人 (bèidūyīn rén)desert-dweller
Danish beduin
  • beduindesert-dweller
Dutch bedoeïen
  • bedoeïendesert-dweller
Finnish beduiini
  • beduiinidesert-dweller
French Bédouin, Bédouine
  • Bédouindesert-dweller
  • Bédouinedesert-dweller
German Beduine, Beduinin
  • Beduinedesert-dweller
  • Beduinindesert-dweller
Hebrew בדואי
  • בדואי (bedu'i)desert-dweller
Hindi बेडुइन, बद्दू
  • बेडुइन (beḍuin)desert-dweller
  • बद्दू (baddū)desert-dweller
Hungarian beduin
  • beduindesert-dweller
Indonesian badui
  • baduidesert-dweller
Irish Beidiúnach
  • Beidiúnachdesert-dweller
Italian beduino, beduina
  • beduinodesert-dweller
  • beduinadesert-dweller
Japanese ベドウィン
  • ベドウィン (bedowin)desert-dweller
Korean 베두인
  • 베두인 (bedu'in)desert-dweller
Malay badwi
  • badwidesert-dweller
Norwegian Bokmål beduin
  • beduindesert-dweller
Polish beduin, beduinka
  • beduindesert-dweller
  • beduinkadesert-dweller
Portuguese beduíno, beduína
  • beduínodesert-dweller
  • beduínadesert-dweller
Romanian beduin
  • beduindesert-dweller
Russian бедуи́н
  • бедуи́н (beduín)desert-dweller
Slovak beduín
  • beduíndesert-dweller
Spanish beduino, beduina
  • beduinodesert-dweller
  • beduinadesert-dweller
Swedish beduin
  • beduindesert-dweller
Tagalog Bedwino
  • Bedwinodesert-dweller
Thai เบดูอิน
  • เบดูอินdesert-dweller
Turkish bedevi
  • bedevidesert-dweller
Ukrainian бедуї́н
  • бедуї́н (bedujín)desert-dweller
Urdu بَدَوی, اَعْرابی
  • بَدَوی (badavī)desert-dweller
  • اَعْرابی (a'rābī)desert-dweller
Cite this entry
APA

bedouin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bedouin

MLA

“bedouin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bedouin. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bedouin,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bedouin.

Source: bedouin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.