noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Received-Pronunciation:/ˈbɑːk(ə)n/
Received-Pronunciation:/bɑːˈkɑːn/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:/ˈbɑɹˌkɑn/
General-American:/bɑɹˈkɑn/
General-American:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with (one RP) -ɑːkən
rhymes with -ɑːn
1
noun
Meaning 1
An arc-shaped shifting sand dune comprising well-sorted (uniformly sized) sand.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: also, attributive
Topics: geography, geology, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
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).
Across languages
Translations
41 source translations are retained for this English entry.
