Bedouin

American  

[bed-oo-in, bed-win] / ˈbɛd u ɪn, ˈbɛd wɪn /

Or Beduin

noun

plural

Bedouins,

plural

Bedouin

1. an Arab of the desert, in Asia or Africa; nomadic Arab.

2. a nomad; wanderer.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the Bedouin.

Bedouin British  

/ ˈbɛdʊɪn /

noun

1. a member of any of the nomadic tribes of Arabs inhabiting the deserts of Arabia, Jordan, and Syria, as well as parts of the Sahara

2. a wanderer or rover

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Bedouins

2. wandering or roving

Other Word Forms

• Bedouinism noun

Etymology

Origin of Bedouin

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English Bedoynes (plural), from Old French beduyn (singular), from Arabic badawīn “desert-dwellers,” plural of badawī, equivalent to badw “desert” + -ī a suffix indicating relationship or origin; in the Western languages, the Arabic plural form -īn was interpreted to be part of the basic form

Example Sentences

Furthermore, "it will displace more than 24 Palestinian Bedouin communities, all of which rely on livestock", he added, and therefore land for grazing.

From Barron's • Nov. 25, 2025

Other armed actors include members of long-established Gaza families and Bedouin clans, some with ties to Sinai.

From Barron's • Oct. 25, 2025

Under successive Egyptian governments, commercial development of the Sinai has been carried out without consulting the indigenous Bedouin communities.

From BBC • Sep. 6, 2025

A truce halted the clashes — which began this month between Bedouin clans and the Druze religious minority — but the tallying of the losses continues.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 25, 2025

She wanted to be a Bedouin when she grew up.

From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye