Danish

[dey-nish]

adjective

of or relating to the Danes, their country, or their language.

noun

a North Germanic language, the language of Denmark, closely related to Norwegian, Swedish, and Icelandic.
(sometimes lowercase) Danish pastry.

Origin of Danish

before 900; Middle English, alteration of Denish (by influence of Dan Dane), Old English Denisc, from Germanic danisk- (unattested); see Dane, -ish¹

Related formsnon-Dan·ish, adjectivepro-Dan·ish, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for danish

cake, doughnut, bread, croissant, pie, phyllo, pastry, muffin, scone, bun, delicacy, dainty, tart, Danish, strudel, patisserie, turnover, roll, eclair, popover

Examples from the Web for danish

Contemporary Examples of danish

Of course, with such a soft-handed approach comes criticism from the Danish right.
What the U.S. Can Learn from Europe About Dealing with Terrorists
Scott Beauchamp
December 15, 2014
The event grew out of an anti-consumerist action by the Danish radical theater collective Solvognen.
Before the Bros, SantaCon Was as an Anti-Corporate Protest
David Freedlander
December 12, 2014
Nolde was an anti-Semite and member of the Danish Nazi Party.
Top Nazis And Their Complicated Relationship With Artists
William O’Connor
November 30, 2014
The Danish Air Force, as luck would have it, had just the aircraft.
The American Ebola Rescue Plan Hinges on One Company. Meet Phoenix.
Abby Haglage
November 22, 2014
But Lundbeck, the Danish maker of Nembutal, no longer sells the drug to U.S. prisons.
Pennsylvania’s Lethal Injection Fiasco
Christopher Moraff
September 18, 2014

Historical Examples of danish

This letter was written in terms of great asperity to the Danish commander.
The Life of Horatio Lord Nelson
Robert Southey
Conrad Malte-Brun, a Danish author and geographer of great merit.
Christopher Columbus and His Monument Columbia
Various
The next day (September 10) they are picked up by the Danish whaler.
The Voyages and Adventures of Captain Hatteras
Jules Verne
Chapter 2: The letter says the large Danish dog will arrive on the 15th of February.
The Voyages and Adventures of Captain Hatteras
Jules Verne
His constant aim is to reproduce his text in a pure and idiomatic Danish.
Hymns and Hymnwriters of Denmark
Jens Christian Aaberg

British Dictionary definitions for danish

Danish

adjective

of, relating to, or characteristic of Denmark, its people, or their language

noun

the official language of Denmark, belonging to the North Germanic branch of the Indo-European family

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for danish

Danish

Old English Denisc "people of Denmark" (see Dane); danish pastry is 1934; shortened form danish is from 1963.