Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
mana [mah-nah] ExamplesWord Origin noun Anthropology.
- a generalized, supernatural force or power, which may be concentrated in objects or persons.
Origin of mana Borrowed into English from Polynesian around 1835–45 Mana [man-ey] noun
Mannai or Man·a, Min·ni [man-ey] noun
- an ancient kingdom in Iran, in Kurdistan.
Examples from the Web for mana Contemporary Examples of mana
Melissa Cheyney, chief author of the pro-home-birth MANA study, calls the Cornell methodology “misleading.”
Brandy Zadrozny
February 7, 2014
Historical Examples of mana
Well, Mana’lio, the chief here, wants a white man to live with him.
Louis Becke
One is worn by the girl, and the mana is covered with the other.
Castes and Tribes of Southern India
Edgar Thurston
She sits on the mana, which has been brought, and placed on the cloth, by her uncle.
Castes and Tribes of Southern India
Edgar Thurston
A man must have mana to do it; if he has not, it will be too late when he is on the hot stone of Tama-ahi-roa.
Andrew Lang
If she had no dowry, he shall give her one mana of silver for a divorce.
George A. Barton
British Dictionary definitions for mana mana noun anthropol
- (in Polynesia, Melanesia, etc) a concept of a life force, believed to be seated in the head, and associated with high social status and ritual power
- any power achieved by ritual means; prestige; authority
Word Origin for mana from Polynesian Word Origin and History for mana n.
“power, authority, supernatural power,” 1843, from Maori, “power, authority, supernatural power.”