In Denmark, a Danish Pastry Is Called Viennese Bread
Danish means of Denmark, and names a pastry. The Danes credit the pastry to Austria, and the name proves it.
Danish means relating to Denmark, its people or language. The pastry has a circular history: Danes call it *wienerbrød*, Viennese bread, because Austrian bakers brought the laminated dough technique to Copenhagen during a strike in the 1850s. The rest of the world then named it after Denmark, which had named it after Austria.
- Of Denmark. *Danish design.*
- The language. *She speaks Danish.*
- A pastry. *A cinnamon Danish.*
- The people. *The Danish are famously cycling-minded.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adjective | Danish | Danish furniture. |
| Noun | Danish | Learning Danish. |
| Noun | Dane | A Dane by birth. |
| Country | Denmark | Northern Denmark. |
| Danish term | wienerbrød | A fresh wienerbrød. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Danish is closely related to Norwegian and Swedish.North Germanic languages.
- Danes call the pastry Viennese bread.Because Austrians introduced it.
- Danish modern furniture is a design movement.Mid twentieth century.
Foods named after the wrong place
- Danish pastry — called Viennese bread in Denmark
- French fries — probably Belgian in origin
- Turkish delight — called *lokum* in Turkish
- Jerusalem artichoke — from North America, and not an artichoke
- Bombay duck — a fish, not a duck
From Old English *Denisc*, of the Danes. *Denmark* means the march or borderland of the Danes.
Why do Danes call it Viennese bread?
Because Austrian bakers brought the laminated dough method to Copenhagen in the 1850s, and the Danish name records the source.
Dane or Danish?
Dane is the noun for a person. Danish is the adjective and the language.