Barkhans

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of sand dune that has a crescent shape, formed by the movement of wind and typically found in deserts
2. These are elongated, crescent-shaped mounds of sand created by wind erosion and deposition in arid regions
3. Referring to sand formations with a curved outline that develop in response to prevailing wind patterns in dry environments

Etymology: "Barkhans" is simply the plural of "barkhan," so it is the form of that noun used when referring to more than one crescent-shaped dune. The singular comes from Russian "барха́н" (barkhan), which in turn was borrowed from a Turkic language, where it refers to these wind-sculpted sand hills. English took the term from Russian, and its scientific use reflects the familiarity of geographers and explorers with dune fields in Central Asia.

Synonyms: sand dunes, dunes