==Etymology==
{{Main|Etymology of Denmark}}
The etymology of the word Denmark, and especially the relationship between Danes and Denmark and the unifying of Denmark as a single kingdom, is a subject which attracts debate.<ref>Kristian Andersen Nyrup, Middelalderstudier [http://www.nyrups.dk/Historie/MiddelalderIndex.htm Bog IX. Kong Gorms Saga]</ref><ref>''Indvandrerne i Danmarks historie'', Bent Østergaard, Syddansk Universitetsforlag 2007, ISBN 978-87-7674-204-1, pp. 19–24</ref> This is centered primarily around the prefix ''"Dan"'' and whether it refers to the [[Danes (Germanic tribe)|Dani]] or a historical person [[Dan (king)|Dan]] and the exact meaning of the -''"mark"'' ending. The issue is further complicated by a number of references to various Dani people in Scandinavia or other places in Europe in [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] and [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] accounts (like [[Ptolemy]], [[Jordanes]], and [[Gregory of Tours]]), as well as [[mediaeval literature]] (like [[Adam of Bremen]], [[Beowulf]], [[Widsith]] and [[Poetic Edda]]).
Most handbooks derive<ref>[[Jan de Vries (linguist)|J. de Vries]], ''Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch'', 1962, 73; [[:da:Niels Åge Nielsen|N. Å. Nielsen]], ''Dansk etymologisk ordbog'', 1989, 85–96.</ref> the first part of the word, and the name of the people, from a word meaning "flat land", related to German ''Tenne'' "threshing floor", English ''den'' "cave", [[Sanskrit]] ''dhánuṣ-'' (धनुस्; "desert"). The ''-mark'' is believed to mean woodland or borderland (see [[march (territory)|marches]]), with probable references to the border forests in south [[Duchy of Schleswig|Schleswig]],<ref>Navneforskning, Københavns Universitet [http://web.archive.org/web/20060716144406/http://navneforskning.ku.dk/stednavne.doc/betydninger.doc Udvalgte stednavnes betydning].</ref>
The first recorded use of the word ''Danmark'' within Denmark itself is found on the two [[Jelling stones]], which are [[runestone]]s believed to have been erected by [[Gorm the Old]] (c. 955) and [[Harald I of Denmark|Harald Bluetooth]] (c. 965). The larger stone of the two is popularly cited as Denmark's baptismal certificate (''dåbsattest''), though both use the word "Denmark", in the form of [[accusative case|accusative]] {{runic|ᛏᛅᚾᛘᛅᚢᚱᚴ}} "tanmaurk" ({{IPA|[danmɒrk]}}) on the large stone, and [[genitive case|genitive]] "tanmarkar" (pronounced {{IPA|[danmarkaɽ]}}) on the small stone.<ref>The [[dative case|dative]] form ''tąnmarku'' (pronounced {{IPA|[danmarkʊ]}}) is found on the contemporaneous Skivum stone.</ref> The inhabitants of Denmark are there called "tani" ({{IPA|[danɪ]}}), or "Danes", in the accusative.
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