Dane

/deɪn/

//deɪn// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"dane" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Dane” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #15,597) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#15,597
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person of Danish descent.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dane · Dane · English

Dane · rank #15,597 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #15,597
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH crows

Nearest frequency peer: crows (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “Dane”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “Dane” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Dane vs de
25% similar
Dane vs day
25% similar
Dane vs due
25% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Dane
PropertyValue
HeadwordDane
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/deɪn/
Letters4
Frequency rank#15,597
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “Dane”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).Danelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “crows” (#15,596), “dangerously” (#15,598), “crave” (#15,595). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “Dane” is #15,597. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for Dane is neighbouring look-alikes ("de", "day", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /deɪn/. Frequency #15,597 among 3,470 “D” headwords. 4 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for Dane, with forms such as "adne", "danne", and "ddane". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "de", "day", "due", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English Dane, from Old Norse danir or Old English Dene. Both forms ultimately descend from Proto-Germanic *daniz. The correct English form is Dane, spelled D-A-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person of Danish descent.
  2. 2
    A person from Denmark.
  3. 3
    In Anglo-Saxon England, any of the seafaring raiders and settlers who attacked and colonized parts of England from the late 8th century onward; a Viking.
  4. 4
    A member of the Danes, a Germanic tribe inhabiting the Danish islands and parts of southern Sweden.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how Dane appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Fresleven - that was the fellow’s name, a Dane - thought himself wronged somehow in the bargain, so he went ashore and started to hammer the chief of the village with a stick.
  2. But the Danes remained resolute in defence - largely thanks to a spirited display by captain Daniel Agger - and they went ahead with their first meaningful attack.

Etymology

From Middle English Dane, from Old Norse danir or Old English Dene. Both forms ultimately descend from Proto-Germanic *daniz.

Synonyms

DanishDanishmanDenmarkian

This word in other languages

danés(Español)Danois(Français)Däne(Deutsch)dinamarquês(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • adne
  • danne
  • ddane
  • dnae

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Dane - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

adne2danne1ddane1dnae2
Edit distance from "Dane"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Dane"?
"Dane" is spelled D-A-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /deɪn/.
What does "Dane" mean?
As a noun, "Dane" means: A person of Danish descent.
What words are commonly confused with "Dane"?
"Dane" is commonly confused with "de", "day", "due". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Dane"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Dane" is /deɪn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "Dane"?
From Middle English Dane, from Old Norse danir or Old English Dene. Both forms ultimately descend from Proto-Germanic *daniz. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Dane", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

eddy#15,603char#15,585Gail#15,619alto#15,565

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list