Names and etymology[edit]

The Latin name Dnuvius is one of a number of "Old European" river names derived from a ProtoIndo-European*dnu. Other river names from the same root
include Don, Donets, Dzvina/Duna, Dneiper and Dniestr. In Rigvedic Sanskrit, dnu means "fluid,
drop", in Avestan, the same word means "river". In the Rigveda, Dnu once appears as the mother
of Vrtra. It is possible that dnu in Scythian as in Avestan was a generic word for
"river": Dniepr andDniestr, from Danapris and Danastius, are presumed to continue Scythian *dnu
apara "far river" and *dnu nazdya-"near river", respectively.[1]
The Greek name of the Danube was (Istros), a borrowing from a Daco-Thracian name
meaning "strong, swift" (akin to Sanskrit iiras "swift").[2] In Latin, the Danube was variously known
as Danubius, Danuvius or as Ister. The Dacian/Thracian name was Donaris/Donaris for the upper
Danube and Istros for the lower Danube.[2] The Thraco-Phrygian name was Matoas,[3] "the bringer of
luck".[4]
The Latin name is masculine (as is the name of the Rhine). German Donau (Early Modern
German Donaw, Tonaw,[5] Middle High German Tuonowe[6]) is feminine, as it has been re-interpreted
as containing the suffix -ouwe "wetland".
The modern languages spoken in the Danube basin all use names derived
from Dnuvius: German: Donau ([dona ]; Bavarian: Doana, Yiddish: Duney [dnj]); Silesian:
Dnaj; Upper Sorbian: Dunaj; Slovak: Dunaj ([dunaj]) Hungarian: Duna ([dun]); SerboCroatian: Dunav /
([dna] or [dna]);Romanian: Dunrea ([dunre a]); Romani: Dunaja ([dunaja]); Bulg
arian: Dunav ([dunf]); Ukrainian: Dunai ([dunj]).

Credit: wikipedia