dune

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-Germanic *dūnǭ, *dūnaz, probably from Gaulish dunum (“hill”), from Proto-Celtic *dūnom (“stronghold, rampart”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰuHnom (“enclosure”), from *dʰewh₂- (“to finish, come full circle”). Doublet of down (which see).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /djuːn/, /dʒuːn/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

  • Homophone: June (with /dʒ/)
• (US) IPA^(key): /duːn/
• Rhymes: -uːn

dune (plural dunes)

1. (geomorphology) A ridge or hill of sand piled up by the wind.

• sand dune, sand-dune

• dyke, dike

• dunesand

• duned

• nude, undé

From Old French dune, from Middle Dutch dūne (Dutch duin), possibly from Gaulish *dunon (“hill”).

• IPA^(key): /dyn/

• Audio

  (file)

dune f (plural dunes)

1. dune

• “dune” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

• Rhymes: -une

dune f pl

1. plural of duna

• nude