Old English · proper noun
Donua
- Part of speech
- proper noun, feminine
- IPA
- /ˈdo.nu.ɑ/
- Syllables
- ˈdo · nu · ɑ (3 syllables)
Meaning
Danube (a river in Europe; flowing 2,850 kilometers from the confluence of the Breg and Brigach at Donaueschingen, Germany, through Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Ukraine, into the Black Sea)
Þā wæs Donua sēo ēa swā swīþe oferforen, þæt hīe ġetruwedon þæt hīe ofer þām īse faran mehten, ac hīe mǣst ealle þǣr forwurdon.
Then the River Danube was so thickly frozen over that they thought they could travel over the ice, but most all of them perished there.
late 9th century, translation of Orosius’ History Against the Pagans
Etymology
From Proto-Celtic *Dānowyos (compare Welsh river name Donwy), an extended form of the river-name *Dānu, from Proto-Indo-European *déh₂nu (“river goddess”), akin to *dʰenh₂- (“to set in motion; to flow”).
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Donua · CC BY-SA 4.0 licence · Attribution