Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Bedouin \Bed"ou*in\, n. [F. b['e]douin, OF. b['e]duin, fr. Ar.
   bedaw[=i] rural, living in the desert, fr. badw desert, fr.
   bad[=a] to live in the desert, to lead a nomadic life.]
   One of the nomadic Arabs who live in tents, and are scattered
   over Arabia, Syria, and northern Africa, esp. in the deserts.
   -- {Bed"ou*in*ism}, n.