dune
noun/djuːn/ · /d͡ʒuːn/
Etymology Partly from a dialectal form of down; and partly from Dutch duin (from Middle Dutch dune) or from Middle Low German dûne; all ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *dūn, *dūnā, of uncertain origin; possibly from Proto-Celtic *dūnom (“stronghold, rampart”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰuHnom (“enclosure”), from *dʰewh₂- (“to finish, come full circle”). Doublet of down (which see).
1
Geography, Geology, Geomorphology, Natural sciences A ridge or hill of sand piled up by currents of wind or water.
- Heavy line segments (lengthened for clarity) indicate locations of deep-sea dunes.1975, Texas A & M University. College of Geosciences, Contributions in Oceanography:
- 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.2021 February 23, Etienne Guyon, Jose Bico, Etienne Reyssat, Benoit Roman, Hidden Wonders: The Subtle Dialogue Between Physics and Elegance, MIT Press, →ISBN, page 257:
- Synonyms
- sand dune, sand-dune
- Derived terms
- antidune, dunal, dune buggy, dune coon, dune cricket, dunefield, dunefoot, duneland, duneless, dunelet, dunelike, dunesand, dunescape, dunetop, Duneverse, duney, duny, foredune, ice dune, interdune, Pajaro Dunes, palaeodune, paleodune, river dune
- Related terms
- duned