Meanings
alternative obsolete Danub
- A locale in the United States, named for the river:
- A town in Herkimer County, New York.
- A minor city in Renville County, Minnesota.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*déh₂nu“river, river goddess”
- Proto-Celtic*Dānowyos
- LatinDānubius
- Old FrenchDanube
- Middle FrenchDanube
- EnglishDanube
Attested since at least 1598 (also note Middle English Danby (“Danube”) att. in 15th c. Mandeville's Travels). Borrowed from Middle French Danube, from Old French Danube, from Latin Dānubius, from Proto-Celtic *Dānowyos (compare Welsh river name Donwy), an extended form of the river-name *Dānu, from Proto-Indo-European *déh₂nu (“river, river goddess”), akin to *dʰenh₂- (“to set in motion; to flow”). Cognate with Latin fōns (“spring”), Persian دنیدن (danidan, “to hasten, run”), Ossetian дон (don, “water, river”), Sanskrit धन्वति (dhánvati, “it flows, runs”). More at Danube.
More words from Middle French, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans Donou
- Donouriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Ancient Greek Ἴστρος
- Ἴστρος (Ístros)river of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Arabic دَانُوب
- دَانُوب (dānūb)river of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Bulgarian Ду́нав
- Ду́нав (Dúnav)river of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Catalan Danubi
- Danubiriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Chinese Mandarin 多瑙河
- 多瑙河 (Duōnǎo hé)river of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Czech Dunaj
- Dunajriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Danish Donau
- Donauriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Dutch Donau
- Donauriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Esperanto Danubo
- Danuboriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Estonian Doonau
- Doonauriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Finnish Tonava
- Tonavariver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
French Danube
- Danuberiver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
German Donau
- Donauriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Greek Δούναβης
- Δούναβης (Doúnavis)river of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Hebrew דנובה
- דנובה (danuba)river of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Hindi डैन्यूब
- डैन्यूब (ḍainyūb)river of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Hungarian Duna
- Dunariver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Icelandic Dóná
- Dónáriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Indonesian Donau
- Donauriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Irish An Danóib
- An Danóibriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Italian Danubio
- Danubioriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Japanese ドナウ川
- ドナウ川 (Donau-gawa)river of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Korean 다뉴브강
- 다뉴브강 (danyubeugang)river of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Latin Danuvius, Danubius
- Danuviusriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
- Danubiusriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
- Isterriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Latvian Donava
- Donavariver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Lithuanian Dunojus
- Dunojusriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Norwegian Bokmål Donau
- Donauriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Persian دانوب
- دانوب (dânub)river of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Polish Dunaj
- Dunajriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Portuguese Danúbio
- Danúbioriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Romanian Dunăre, Danubiu
- Dunăreriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
- Danubiuriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
- Istruriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Russian Дуна́й
- Дуна́й (Dunáj)river of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Slovak Dunaj
- Dunajriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Spanish Danubio
- Danubioriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Swedish Donau
- Donauriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Tagalog Danubyo
- Danubyoriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Thai แม่น้ำดานูบ
- แม่น้ำดานูบ (mɛ̂ɛ-náam daa-nûup)river of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Turkish Tuna nehri, Tuna
- Tuna nehririver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
- Tunariver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Ukrainian Дуна́й
- Дуна́й (Dunáj)river of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Urdu ڈینیوب
- ڈینیوب (ḍēn'yūb)river of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Vietnamese sông Đa Nuýp, sông Danube
- sông Đa Nuýpriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
- sông Danuberiver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
- sông Donauriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
- Đa Não Hàriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Welsh Donaw, Donwy
- Donawriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
- Donwyriver of Europe that flows to the Black Sea
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
Danube. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Danube
“Danube.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Danube. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Danube,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Danube.
Source: Danube on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.