NYT Dictionary
BARCHAN
/ˈbɑɹˌkɑn/NounBAR-chanbar-chan · 2 syllablesAdvanced/Professional
Accepted in official NYT Spelling Bee puzzle years: 2019
Meaning
An arc-shaped shifting sand dune comprising well-sorted (uniformly sized) sand.
Etymology
Origin: Unknown
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).
NYT Puzzle Appearances
No published puzzle dates on file for this word yet. It is part of the official NYT Spelling Bee word list for 2019.