Baikal
name ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A large freshwater lake in Siberia, Russia.
"Of the Mongall Tartars. The Mongalls are a numerous people, and occupy a large extent of country, from this place to the Kallgan, which ſignifies the everlaſting Wall, or the great wall of China. From this wall they ſtretch themſelves northward as far as the river Amoor; and from the Amoor, weſtward, to the Baykail ſea ; where they border with the territories of the Kontayſha, or prince of the black Kalmucks. On the fouth, they are bounded by a nation called Tonguts, among whom the Delay Lama has his residence."
- 2 Baikal (Soviet and Russian non-alcoholic beverage)
Example
More examples"Lake Baikal in Russia is the deepest lake in the world."
Etymology
From Russian Байка́л (Bajkál, “Baikal”), from Buryat Байгал нуур (Bajgal nuur, “Lake Baikal”), perhaps ultimately from the Turkic *bāy (“rich”), and *köl, *kȫl (“lake”), with reference to the abundance of high-quality salmon in the lake. The Turkic origin is rejected by Vasmer. Native Mongolic origins have also been proposed.
Related phrases
More for "baikal"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.