baku
baku Lexical Profile
• noun
The capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, located on the Absheron Peninsula along the western coast of the Caspian Sea.
A supernatural creature in Japanese mythology, traditionally described as having an elephant's trunk and tiger's paws, which is said to devour nightmares.
"According to Japanese folklore, a child waking from a bad dream can call upon the baku to consume the nightmare."
Word Nuance & Usage
Capitalized as 'Baku' when referring to the Azerbaijani capital, but typically lowercase when referring to the Japanese mythological creature.
• Rhymes for baku
Word Origin & Etymology
The name of the Azerbaijani city likely derives from Persian 'Bādkūbe' (wind-pounded city). The mythological creature's name comes from Japanese 'baku' (貘), originating from Chinese mythology.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.