Wiktionary

barchan

English

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WOTD – 13 September 2025

Etymology

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A barchan in Death Valley National Park, California, U.S.A.

Unadapted borrowing from Russian барха́н (barxán),[1] from a Turkic language[2] such as Kazakh барқан (barqan);[3] 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).[4]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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barchan (plural barchans)

  1. (geology, also attributive) An arc-shaped shifting sand dune comprising well-sorted (uniformly sized) sand.
    • 1966, E[dwin] S[herbon] Hills, C[liff] D. Ollier, C[harles] R[owland] Twidale, “Geomorphology”, in E. S. Hills, editor, Arid Lands: A Geographical Appraisal (Routledge Revivals), New York, N.Y.: Routledge, published 2024, →ISBN, page 72:
      The sand is usually very well sorted in barchans, for it is constantly re-worked as the dune 'marches'. The marching also causes cross-bedding inside the barchan, with a dip parallel to the sand-fall face.
    • 1988, Robert Irwin, chapter 8, in The Mysteries of Algiers, London: Viking, →ISBN, page 69:
      But to follow the dunes around the foot of their slopes is also tedious and one can walk for half a kilometre east or west, finding one barchan linked to another and no easy way through, and the unverifiable suspicion grows that one has been driven by insensible curves actually southwards.
    • 2006, Thomas Pynchon, “Against the Day”, in Against the Day, New York, N.Y.: Penguin Press, →ISBN, page 752:
      The structure out here was revealed immediately—desert punctuated by oases in a geography of cruelty, barkhans or traveling sand-dunes a hundred feet high, which might or might not possess consciousness, […]
    • 2008, Julie Laity, “Aeolian Processes”, in Deserts and Desert Environments, Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, →ISBN, page 205, column 2:
      Barchans and transverse dunes are essentially of the same type, forming and migrating under a unidirectional wind regime. The difference between the two is related to the amount of sand: barchans are isolated mounds, whereas transverse dunes are composed of many barchans coalesced into a single, longer dune form […].
    • 2010, Robert S[tewart] Anderson, Suzanne P[restrud] Anderson, “Eolian Forms and Deposits”, in Geomorphology: The Mechanics and Chemistry of Landscapes, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire; New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press, published 2011, →ISBN, page 482, column 1:
      Perhaps the most distinctive is the barchan dune, an isolated crescentic form with arms that stretch downwind. Barchans are not huge, often with heights of only a few meters.

Alternative forms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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  1. ^ “barchan, n.”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
  2. ^ “barchan, n.”, in OED Online  ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2024; “barchan, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  3. ^ “barchan, n.”, in Merriam-Webster.com Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
  4. ^ “Barchan: sand dune”, in Encyclopædia Britannica‎[1], 8 November 2016 (last accessed), archived from the original on 8 November 2016: “The Russian naturalist Alexander von Middendorf is credited with introducing the word into scientific literature in 1881.”

Further reading

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Old Czech

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Old High German barchant, from Medieval Latin barchanus, from Old French barracan.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): (13th CE) /ˈbarxan/
  • IPA(key): (15th CE) /ˈbarxan/

Noun

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barchan m inan

  1. fustian

Declension

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Declension of barchan (hard o-stem)
singular dual plural
nominative barchan barchany barchani, barchanové
genitive barchana, barchanu barchanú barchanóv
dative barchanu barchanoma barchanóm
accusative barchan barchany barchany
vocative barchane barchany barchani, barchanové
locative barchaně, barchanu barchanú barchaniech
instrumental barchanem barchanoma barchany
This table shows the most common forms around the 13th century.

Descendants

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  • Old Polish: barchan
    • Polish: barchan (“fustian”), (Olszytn) barchim, (Warmia) parchim, (Warmia) parchin
      • → Kashubian: barchón
    • Silesian: barchin

References

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Old Polish

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Etymology

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    Borrowed from Old Czech barchan.[1][2][3] First attested in 1370.

    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): (10th–15th CE) /barxaːn/
    • IPA(key): (15th CE) /barxɒn/

    Noun

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    barchan m inan

    1. (attested in Masovia, Lesser Poland, Greater Poland) fustian
      • 1950 [1477], Władysław Kuraszkiewicz, Adam Wolff, editors, Zapiski i roty polskie XV-XVI wieku z ksiąg sądowych ziemi warszawskiej, number 3094, Warsaw:
        Jako themv gwalthowi o szvknya y o barchan, o kthore mnye Borzym poszvąl, *røk mynąl, thako my pomozi boog y szwanthi crzyschs
        [Jako temu gwałtowi o suknią i o barchan, o ktore mnie Borzym pozwał, rok minął, tako mi pomoży Bog i święty krzyż]
      • 1370, Adam Chmiel, editor, Księgi radzieckie kazimierskie‎[4] (quotation in Latin and Old Polish; overall work in Polish, Latin, and Old Polish), Krakow, page 20:
        Pro duobus barchanis
        [Pro duobus barchanis]
      • 1442, Wokabularz Raczyńskich, Biblioteki Raczyńskich w Poznaniu, sygn. 1360/I, page 136r:
        Lliniscenia vestis lana et ex lino contexsta vlg. barchan
        [Lliniscenia vestis lana et ex lino contexsta vlg. barchan]
      • 1450, Piotr z Uścia, Rozariusz kapitulny, Ujście: Archiwum i Biblioteki Krakowskiej Kapituły Katedralnej, sygn. Ms 224, page 145v:
        Liniscenia dicitur vestis ex lino et lana contexta et alio nomine dicitur liniscius proprie barchan
        [Liniscenia dicitur vestis ex lino et lana contexta et alio nomine dicitur liniscius proprie barchan]
      • 1463, Wokabularz petersburski VII, Cesarskiej Biblioteki Publicznej w Petersburgu, sygn. Lat.Q.ch.I.100, page 12:
        Linistius barchan
        [Linistius barchan]
      • XV p. post., rękopiśmienne ekscerpty - glosy z rozariusza w rękopisie Biblioteki Zakładu Narodowego im. Ossolińskich we Lwowie, obecnie we Wrocławiu, o sygn. 3297, z r. 1476, page 131r:
        Liniscema dicitur uestis ex lino et lana contexta et alio nomine dicitur liniscius proprie *brachan
        [Liniscema dicitur uestis ex lino et lana contexta et alio nomine dicitur liniscius proprie *brachan]
      • XV p. post., Rękopiśmienne ekscerpty - glosy z rozariusza w rękopisie Biblioteki Zakładu Narodowego im. Ossolińskich we Lwowie, obecnie we Wrocławiu, o sygn. 1630, page 129v:
        Liniscenia dicitur vestis ex lino et lana contexta Et alio nomine dicitur liniscius proprie barchan
        [Liniscenia dicitur vestis ex lino et lana contexta Et alio nomine dicitur liniscius proprie barchan]
      • XV p. post., Wokabularz petersburski II, Cesarskiej Biblioteki Publicznej w Petersburgu, sygn. Lat.F.ch.XVI.12, page 9:
        Liniscenia barchan vel brucfa
        [Liniscenia barchan vel brucfa]
      • c. 1500, Wokabularz lubiński, Lubiń: inkunabuł Archiwum Archidiecezjalnego w Gnieźnie, sygn. Inc. 78d., page 23v:
        Cardiunculus barchan
        [Cardiunculus barchan]

    Derived terms

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    nouns

    Descendants

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    References

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    1. ^ Mirosław Bańko; Lidia Wiśniakowska (2021), “barchan I”, in Wielki słownik wyrazów obcych, →ISBN
    2. ^ Dubisz, Stanisław, editor (2003), “I barchan”, in Uniwersalny słownik języka polskiego [Universal Dictionary of the Polish Language]‎[2] (in Polish), volumes 1–4, Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, →ISBN, →OCLC
    3. ^ Bańkowski, Andrzej (2000), “barchan”, in Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish)

    Polish

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    Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia pl

    Etymology 1

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      Inherited from Old Polish barchan.

      Pronunciation

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      • Audio:(file)
      • Rhymes: -arxan
      • Syllabification: bar‧chan

      Noun

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      barchan m inan (related adjective barchanowy)

      1. fustian
        1. fustian clothing
      Declension
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      Declension of barchan
      singular plural
      nominative barchan barchany
      genitive barchanu barchanów
      dative barchanowi barchanom
      accusative barchan barchany
      instrumental barchanem barchanami
      locative barchanie barchanach
      vocative barchanie barchany
      Alternative forms
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      Descendants
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      Etymology 2

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        Borrowed from Turkmen [Term?].[1][2][3] First attested in 1925.[3]

        Pronunciation

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        Noun

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        barchan m inan (related adjective barchanowy)

        1. barchan
          Hypernym: wydma
        Declension
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        Declension of barchan
        singular plural
        nominative barchan barchany
        genitive barchanu barchanów
        dative barchanowi barchanom
        accusative barchan barchany
        instrumental barchanem barchanami
        locative barchanie barchanach
        vocative barchanie barchany

        References

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        1. ^ Mirosław Bańko; Lidia Wiśniakowska (2021), “barchan II”, in Wielki słownik wyrazów obcych, →ISBN
        2. ^ Dubisz, Stanisław, editor (2003), “II barchan”, in Uniwersalny słownik języka polskiego [Universal Dictionary of the Polish Language]‎[3] (in Polish), volumes 1–4, Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, →ISBN, →OCLC
        3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Witold Doroszewski, editor (1958–1969), “barchan II”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), Warszawa: PWN

        Further reading

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