Danube name meaning "strong, swift" (akin to Sanskrit "iṣiras" "swift"). In Latin, the Danube was variously known as ' or as '. The Dacian/Thracian name was "Donaris" for the upper Danube and "Istros" for the lower Danube. The Thraco-Phrygian name was "Matoas", "the bringer of luck". The Latin name is masculine, as are all its Slavic names, except Slovenian, (the name of the Rhine is also masculine in Latin, most of the Slavic languages, as well as in German). The German "Donau" (Early Modern German "Donaw, Tonaw", Middle High German "Tuonowe") is feminine, as it has been re-interpreted as containing the
The Blue Danube piece was prominently used in Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film "". After a leap from humanity's prehistoric past to its spacefaring future, the first two-thirds of "The Blue Danube" are heard as a space plane approaches and docks with a space station; it concludes while another spacecraft travels from the station to the Moon. The piece is then reprised over the film's closing credits. In a Monty Python's Flying Circus skit, a shortened version is played by an orchestra, and each member explodes after each refrain. Sources The Blue Danube "The Blue Danube" is the common English title of "", Op.