dune

Definition

A ridge or hill of sand piled up by currents of wind or water.

Etymology

Partly from a dialectal form of down; and partly from French dune (from Old French dune), or from Middle Dutch dūne (modern Dutch duin), or from Middle Low German dûne; all ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *dūn, *dūnā, probably from Proto-Celtic *dūnom (“stronghold, rampart”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰuHnom (“enclosure”), from *dʰewh₂- (“to finish, come full circle”). Doublet of down (which see).

Example Sentences

• "Heavy line segments (lengthened for clarity) indicate locations of deep-sea dunes."
• "In the early 2000s, space probes [confirmed Mars as] having dunes […] Their shapes are identical to their Saharan cousins', but they are ten times bigger. In contrast, underwater dunes are a hundred times smaller than their counterparts on solid ground. This universality of dunes is a blessing for physicists: their comparative study confirmed the models that describe the formation of dunes on Earth."