Talk:Duvet

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[edit] Name and etymology

In Australia we once called this a "continental quilt" but these days the term "doona" has become the universal term here. — Hippietrail 15:06, 30 Oct 2004 (UTC)

In Denmark a duvet is called a dyne, pronounced "doona" so I expect there is a connection. We could mention this in the article.

Peregrine981 02:32, Oct 31, 2004 (UTC)

This was recently noticed (in connexion with the similar Norwegian word, however) on a mailing list I'm on: However, the conventional wisdom is that 'doona' comes from a trademark, which I once saw cited as a German company named 'Feduna'. (I think this was in the Macquarie Dictionary, but I don't have access to it right now, and they decided to make their online edition for-pay.) Also, there's never been any significant emmigration from Norway or Denmark to Australia that I know of (it'd need to be via Melbourne relatively early, because this is where the word 'doona' spread from). OTOH, your Crown Princess was born in Oz so there's been significant emmigration from Australia to Denmark, so maybe you stole our word? :) (and, a fact I like, in Melbourne's eastern suburb of Kew, there's a street called 'Princess St', which goes through the Kew Junction and becomes 'Denmark St'.) But a German word 'Feduna' would be pronounced \FEH-doo-na\ /'fedunə/ I think, so dropping the first syllable's unlikely, and if it were anglicised (explaining the stress), given the time-frame, the modern word should be 'duna' pronounced \JOO-na\ /'dʒʉ:nə/. I very much like the danish/norwegian explanation, but I don't see how it could've come into British Melburnian's speech, nor why dictionaries always cry 'trademark'. Felix the Cassowary 11:46, 1 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Mightn't there be a connection between the German trademark and the Scandinavian word? I guess we have no real way of checking. It seems unlikely that the word came directly from Scandinavia to Australia, but there could also be some roundabout way. Either way we're engaging in speculation, interesting as it is.

Peregrine981 12:30, Mar 9, 2005 (UTC)

Just to clear-up any confusion that might spring from the above discusions: the brand name is "Doona", and the name "Doona" is currently registered by the Tontine company. To me the above discussion could be interpreted as "Feduna" is the band name while "doona" is a slang term that evolved from it. I have never heard of the "Feduna" brand, and I don't know if the name "Doona" was taken from "Feduna", however "Doona" is itself a brand name current as at July 2005. MinorEdit 03:25, July 13, 2005 (UTC)

The Scandinavian word 'dyne' apparently comes from old Norse 'dýna', so it is not likely derived either from the Australian 'doona', nor any German trademark. Nov 7, 2005

The word "doona" is used all over Australia, not just Eastern Australia, so I took out the word 'eastern'. (comment by User:130.95.244.84, 09:05, 11 January 2006 (UTC))

I come from Adelaide, we say (continental) quilt. I've also heard duvet. We don't really say doona. Possibly people younger than me might say doona as brand name descriptions have taken hold. Ozdaren 15:40, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] History

Could we expand on the history of duvets -- where they originated and when they became popular in other countries? Njál 15:11, 23 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Duvet day

One of my co-workers who worked in the UK explained these to me. You basically get a day off work, when you don't want to go in, without having to apply ahead of time, or lie about being sick. Are these notable enough for their own article or would they be considered on topic for this one? 168.209.98.35 19:11, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

I'd consider it off topic. As for notability, I've never heard the term in the U.S. but can't speak to its prevalence elsewhere. A term sometimes used here is Mental health day but that's currently a red link. JamesMLane t c 20:08, 5 February 2006 (UTC)