People with way too much time on their hands can argue endlessly, even throwing in a few capital letter exclamations, about tiny differences that aren't consistent enough to be definitions.
"The donair originated in Halifax (and shortly afterwards in Alberta)"
"Donner, Shwarma, and Gyro all refer to the way the meat is cooked - upright on a spit. This method of cooking orignated in southern Turkey and was refered to as 'chevirme', meaning "rotation," or, "turning". 'Chevirme' was pronounced 'shwarma' by Arabic speakers. Similarly, 'doner' comes from the Turkish verb 'donmek', meaning "to turn". This cooking method is referred to as 'gyro' in Greek, meaning "to turn," also (think 'gyroscope'). Doner/shwarma/gyro probably originated in southern Turkey and was quickly adopted into the cuisine of northern Syria. By and large, upright roasted meat is an Anatolian, Levantine, and Greek tradition. The regional differences in all of these dishes stem from the local fixings that are served with them. In Aleppo (my personal favorite), for instance, it tends to be quite spicy, served with pickles, and after the meat is rolled in the bread with the fixings the whole thing is dipped in the drippings and toasted on a griddle. Turks tend to forgo the dip in fat and use creamier fillings (though this is sometimes seen in Syria as well). Greeks tend to slather theirs in the ubiquitous tadziki."
"Please pay closer attention. I'm not denying that ETYMOLOGICALLY there is a confluence among these terms, but PRACTICALLY SPEAKING, a "shawarma" place will sell a ground product called "donair" and a non-ground product called "shawarma." It will not sell "gyros" unless it's Greek."
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