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Added 9 October 2026

barchan

/ˈbɑːk(ə)n/ noun

First recorded: 1881 Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about barchan at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

An arc-shaped shifting sand dune comprising well-sorted (uniformly sized) sand.

Origin

Unadapted borrowing from Russian барха́н (barxán), from a Turkic language such as Kazakh барқан (barqan); further etymology unknown. The Russian word was first used in scientific literature in 1881 by the Russian zoologist and explorer Alexander von Middendorf (1815–1894).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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