Talk:Duvet

Name and etymology
121.214.36.53 (talk) 05:46, 4 January 2018 (UTC) ==doona== As a child in England (1940s) an eiderdown was a plumped up eider duck down filled equivalent to a German federbedung. A Quilt is a thin un-padded bad cover, usually fairly ornate. If you listen a Scot talk about down it is pronounced Doon, hence Eiderdown would be Eiderdoon. I am sure that somewhere along the road from German, Saxon, Norse, Scottish etc the term eveolved into doona and Tontine grabbed it.121.214.36.53 (talk) 05:46, 4 January 2018 (UTC) In Australia we once called this a "continental quilt" but these days the term "doona" has become the universal term here. &mdash; 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\ /'fedun&#601;/ 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\ /'d&#658;&#649;:n&#601;/. 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)

The OED lists Doona as an Australian trademark meaning Duvet, with first usages being quoted from the 70s. "1973 Official Jrnl. Patents, Trade Marks & Designs (Austral.) 1 Mar. 580/1 Kimpton Feather Mills Pty Ltd..Victoria... Pillows, sleeping bags, and all other goods in this class. Doona. 1980 Sunraysia Daily (Mildura, Austral.) 29 Apr. 4/6 (Advt.), Because Kimpton Doonas are filled with natural duck down, the warmth they give can be adjusted. 1981 National Times (Austral.) 9 Oct. 51/1, I bought a doona because I feel the cold." And the quotations continue on from there Ice-Wolf (talk) 07:44, 26 December 2007 (UTC)

And if you can find any Aus references to "duna", I'll eat my doona cover. It wouldn't work in Aus English, as the u would sound yew, not oo. Duna? Made up rubbish, mate. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.171.82.240 (talk) 15:13, 1 June 2015 (UTC)

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)

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)

"Personal Day" is also a red link but a synonom 75.108.24.77 —Preceding comment was added at 19:27, 13 November 2007 (UTC)

Same as comforter or not?
There seem to be differing understandings of the words 'duvet' and 'comforter' in different parts of the world. This needs to be better accounted for on wikipedia. See Talk:Comforter for discussion. Abc30 04:35, 26 July 2007 (UTC)


 * One of the questions on "Battle of the Sexes" is on the difference between duvets and duvet covers. They claim that the two are identical. This article is very confusing for people who are looking to wikipedia to clear up their confusion. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.29.148.205 (talk) 18:35, 23 November 2011 (UTC)


 * Wow! Contradictory and confusing for as far back as 2007? I am putting a contradictory on the article. 37.27.81.100 (talk) 05:03, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

Duvet and comforter are the same. However, the usage differs. It is called a comforter and often used with a top sheet instead of a cover in the US. It is typically used with a duvet cover (and no top sheet) in several other places. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.123.205.171 (talk) 08:32, 3 October 2015 (UTC)

In my experience, what you refer to as a Duvet is called a "down comforter" in order to distinguish it from comforters made of other materials. They can be used with or without a cover. Typical American bedding usually includes a top sheet which would be placed between the sleeper and any comforter thus a Duvet cover is not always purchased. The Wikipedia article on Bedding states that "Duvet: A soft flat bag traditionally filled with down or feathers, or a combination of both, and used like a blanket. Typically not as thin as a comforter, but may be called a 'down comforter'." What seems to be the case here is that the same terminology is used by the public, advertisers and merchants for different things, at least in the U.S. Still if the word "down" is not included in the advert, then it is likely that the filling is synthetic (polyfill, fiberfill, "down-alternative") because it is cheaper. Ileanadu (talk) 07:21, 16 December 2015 (UTC)

Eiderdown
In the UK we traditionally had a warm bed-cover known as an eiderdown. This would be, basically, a large rectangular bag with a printed fabric cover, stuffed with feathers or other insulating material to a thickness of at least an inch, and stitched through its thickness in rows or squares. The cover was not usually removable, and the eiderdown was therefore seldom if ever washed. It would be laid on top of the bed over the sheets or blankets, so it would not usually be in contact with the occupants. From the 1960s or 70s onwards the eiderdown has been largely replaced by the 'continental quilt' or duvet, which differs in having a removable cover that can be separately washed, and in being often used without sheets or blankets between it and the occupant. I mention all this because Wikipedia doesn't have an entry for 'eiderdown', except to cross-refer to articles on quilts, duvets, and comforters. But an eiderdown, in the traditional British sense, is not the same as a duvet, and it doesn't seem quite the same as an American quilt, which seems to be usually much thinner, and stuffed with cotton or wool wadding rather than feathers. The term 'comforter' is unknown in British English (as an item of bedding), and I am not clear if the American 'comforter' includes what the British call an eiderdown.109.150.7.193 (talk) 10:24, 3 January 2016 (UTC)
 * Agreed. I think a redirect from a specific title at eiderdown (bedding) and a section here would probably be best. Andy Dingley (talk) 11:46, 3 January 2016 (UTC)
 * The duvet itself does not have a removable cover, the duvet cover replaces the top sheet which tended to get bundled up during the night and leave the occupant in direct contact with the eiderdown anyway. Eider being the bird, is "down" the fluffy feathers found under the pen feathers? BP OMowe (talk) 06:30, 3 October 2023 (UTC)

British Etymology
Just thought I should say, in all my 28 years of living in the UK, I have never, ever heard anyone call a duvet a 'continental quilt', not in conversation, tv, radio, print or the internet. Perhaps the article should change to show that 'continental quilt' has fallen out of usage in the UK? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.187.160.233 (talk) 11:25, 9 October 2016 (UTC)
 * Yes. Done. Nurg (talk) 01:01, 13 November 2016 (UTC)


 * Similarly in 40 years of living in the UK I've never heard anybody pronounce it with the Dj of "dew", as this article suggests. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A00:23C7:1A05:5201:F5C5:F3D9:E3DF:D51 (talk) 16:18, 26 December 2021 (UTC)

Term can also mean a jacket?
New to me, but have recently started seen the word "duvet" applied to a winter down-filled-type jacket. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.152.152.188 (talk) 22:16, 11 January 2017 (UTC)

Duvet cover trick
There is an easy way to cover the duvet. Who invented that trick? Or, how old is that trick? Ad Huikeshoven (talk) 07:44, 22 May 2020 (UTC)

Name and etymology (Doona) revisited
Sites such as https://www.oed.com/dictionary/doona_n just say that "Doona" is a proprietary name in Australia, dating from around 1971; other sources e.g. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/doona trace its origin to the Danish "dyne" /dyːnə/, which is apparently pronounced Du-na; indeed, Kimptons, the original proponents (trademarked later, see https://trademarks.justia.com/731/04/doona-73104932.html I think) marketed Doonas as "the new Scandinavian bedding method" or similar. However I was reading Jan Yoors's memoir of travelling with the Gypsies in Belgium starting in 1934, where he notes that they slept under eiderdowns that they called dunhas (his spelling: the gypsies had no written language), see https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/The_Gypsies/he0kAAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=dunha++eiderdown&pg=PA18&printsec=frontcover, and further that the word itself occurs in Hungarian, meaning the same thing, see https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dunyha: "dunyha - Hungarian. Alternative form: dunna. Meaning: eiderdown (a type of thick bedding consisting of a soft flat bag loosely filled with down feathers of ducks, usually protected with a removable cover)". Since the gypsies spent a lot of time travelling in Hungary, I would imagine that is how the word entered their language (which is otherwise of Indian roots). Anyway, just wondering how much if any of this might be relevant to add to the wiki article, bearing in mind that no-one seems to have noted that connection before, and this could possibly be construed as original research. Thoughts? Tony 1212 (talk) 23:47, 24 September 2023 (UTC)
 * OK, I have had a go at adding relevant text to the (newly retitled) section Duvet, trying to just state facts without opinions (which would arguably be OR). If persons think this is too much, feel free to adjust or revert. Some of the European equivalents are translated as "eiderdown" in relevant dictionaries; I still find that term lacking or not adequately discussed in the article, but lack the stamina to go down that particular rabbit hole (same or different?) just now... Tony 1212 (talk) 07:14, 25 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Have grasped the nettle now and added mention and some discussion of of "eiderdowns" to the article. We can put this topic to bed now, maybe (weak joke...) Tony 1212 (talk) 18:47, 25 September 2023 (UTC)

Section "Fillings" would be desirable
Since the article was previously mainly in praise of duvets (which is not a problem), for balance I added a section "disadvantages" a few days back, which I hope is OK. This includes a brief allusion to different fillings but I realise there is no section specifically for these, and probably should be... I may create one when I feel up to the task (ideally with adequate referencing), but that may be some time away. Meanwhile if someone would like to do this, please feel free... Tony 1212 (talk) 17:27, 9 October 2023 (UTC)


 * Apart from the cited source not really supporting the claims, the listed benefits are mostly marketing points that has very little to do with the duvets themselves. It is perfectly possible to use a blanket in a duvet cover (bag-sheet), or a top sheet under a duvet... and the proprieties of the various fillings is related to the materials used rather than it being a duvet. I indeed think you are on the right track making it a materials section. BP OMowe (talk) 09:06, 12 October 2023 (UTC)

Us English
The fact that they're not referred to as duvets in US English is completely false. This is not a regional observation. Check any mainstream or national bedding or department store and see for yourself. 2603:7000:4BF0:860:90C9:AEBE:8574:AA2F (talk) 04:34, 26 March 2024 (UTC)