Danish
Americanadjective
noun
-
a North Germanic language, the language of Denmark, closely related to Norwegian, Swedish, and Icelandic. Dan, Dan.
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(sometimes lowercase) Danish pastry.
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of Danish
First recorded before 900; Middle English, alteration of Denshe, Danshe, Dench (by influence of Dan “(a) Dane”), Old English Denisc , from Germanic daniskaz; see origin at Dane, -ish 1
Explanation
A danish is a sweet breakfast roll filled with custard, jam, or marzipan. If you're invited to brunch at a friend's house, she'll be happy to see you arrive with a box of danishes. If you order coffee and a danish at a diner, you'll get a flaky, buttery pastry topped with cheese or fruit — not a person from Denmark. The word is short for "danish pastry," which is actually called wienerbrød, or "Viennese bread" in Denmark. The popular history of the danish involves a strike by Danish bakery workers which led bakeries to hire Austrian bakers, who brought their own recipes for pastries rich with butter and egg.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Just days after a capital-markets day left investors wondering what’s next for Novo Nordisk, the Danish drug giant struck a licensing deal worth over $1 billion.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026
The Danish architecture firm BIG: Bjarke Ingels Group and San Francisco-based landscape architects Lutsko Associates are part of these plans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
The other, Mestersvig, is a military outpost now used by the Danish special forces’ Sirius Dogsled Patrol.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
Narsarsuaq has deep-water access and a large runway which US military engineers were surveying last week, according to Danish media.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
A lone Danish coastguard stood bundled in furs, his horse beside him, and he shaded his eyes against the glint of the icebergs beyond the sail and watched the strangers come swiftly in toward land.
From "Grendel" by John Gardner
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
