What does vienna mean?
Vienna has two familiar English uses. As a proper noun, it is the capital and largest city of Austria, a city celebrated for its imperial palaces, museums, concert halls, coffeehouse culture, and historical role in central Europe. As a common noun, Vienna occurs chiefly in the established phrase “Vienna sausage,” meaning a small, slender frankfurter-style sausage associated with the Austrian capital. The English place name comes through French from the Latin Vindobona, the Roman name for the city. Its modern demonym and adjective, Viennese, refer to a person, inhabitant, or thing connected with Vienna. Although “wiener” is a familiar synonym for the sausage in American English, Vienna by itself almost always denotes the city rather than the food. As a result, recognizing both meanings helps distinguish references to Austrian geography, culture, and institutions from the established culinary term.
The capital and largest city of Austria, situated on the Danube River and historically an important imperial and cultural center.
"Vienna is renowned for its historic architecture, museums, and music."
The name is capitalized when referring to the city, its inhabitants, or institutions associated with it.
A small, slender frankfurter-style sausage associated with Vienna, commonly used in the compound “Vienna sausage.”
"He cooked Vienna sausages and served them in buns."
The unqualified word is uncommon in this sense outside the established compound.
The ordinary countable sense takes the plural “Vienna sausages”; the city name itself has no regular plural.
"The shop sells Vienna sausages in several sizes."
Vienna gave its name to the wiener, while its streets and palaces preserve the splendor of an imperial capital.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does vienna come from?
The English name Vienna came through French from the Latin Vindobona, the Roman name of the Austrian city. The deeper pre-Roman origin of Vindobona is not securely established. The German name Wien and the Neo-Latin form Vindobonensis belong to the same place-name tradition, while Viennese is the modern demonym and adjective derived from the city’s name.
Related word forms
How vienna is actually used
The standalone city name is always capitalized. “Vienna sausage” is a conventional compound and normally retains the capitalized place-name; the shorter term “wiener” is also common in American English.
Easily confused with vienna
“Vienna” is the name of the Austrian city, while “Viennese” is an adjective or noun describing a person or thing from Vienna.