Americana

[uh-mer-i-kan-uh, -kah-nuh, -key-nuh]

noun

1. (often used with a plural verb),  books, papers, maps, etc., relating to America, especially to its history, culture, and geography.

2. (used with a singular verb),  a collection of such materials.

Americana

/ əˌmɛrɪˈkɑːnə /

plural noun

1. objects, such as books, documents, relics, etc, relating to America, esp in the form of a collection

2. all forms of traditional music indigenous to America, and their modern variants

Word History and Origins

Origin of Americana¹

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45; Americ(a) + -ana

Example Sentences

“Steak House” is 200 pages of sheer Americana, and a slice of quick-disappearing history.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But not from Orange, whose city fathers have long cast it as a slice of small-town Americana free from big-city problems or national issues.

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The coastal summer vacation has long been a staple of middle-class Americana, but what happens when the tourists go home?

Read more on Salon

Americana singer-songwriter Neko Case, who turned 55 years old earlier this month, doesn’t seem to wrestle with this question the way many of her contemporaries do.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Based in Salt Lake City, he’s long championed outlaw writers, western Americana and literary misfits — none more so than his late friend, Edward Abbey.

Read more on Los Angeles Times