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
Derived 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.
Argentine lifestyle impresario Alan Faena opened his namesake New York hotel late last year in the bottom of a torqued high rise by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
The Danish drugmaker said late Sunday that the pill hit one million prescriptions 12 weeks after reaching U.S. pharmacies and online providers, with a further two million prescriptions achieved in the following 10 weeks.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026
In a large study that followed more than 54,000 Danish adults for up to 27 years, researchers examined how nitrate and nitrite intake from different sources related to the development of dementia, including early-onset dementia.
From Science Daily • Jun. 8, 2026
The Danish stock market was closed on Friday, so the domestic shares are playing catch up a bit.
From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026
What, I'm Danish, shut up, she would have said if his mom hadn't been there.
From "Eleanor & Park" by Rainbow Rowell
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.
