tana

¹ American  

[tah-nuh] / ˈtɑ nə /

noun

1. a variant of thana.

---

Tana ² American  

[tah-nah, -nuh] / ˈtɑ nɑ, -nə /

noun

1. a river in eastern Africa, the longest river in Kenya, where it flows eastward before turning south to the Indian Ocean: site of a series of hydroelectric dams. 620 miles (998 kilometers) long.

2. Formerly Tsana.  Lake Tana, the largest lake in Ethiopia, located in the Amhara Region and the source of the Blue Nile: recognized for its historical, cultural, ecological, and international significance. 1,200 square miles (3,100 square kilometers).

---

Tana ¹ British  

/ ˈtɑːnə /

noun

1. a lake in NW Ethiopia, on a plateau 1800 m (6000 ft) high: the largest lake of Ethiopia; source of the Blue Nile. Area: 3673 sq km (1418 sq miles)

2. a river in E Kenya, rising in the Aberdare Range and flowing in a wide curve east to the Indian Ocean: the longest river in Kenya. Length: 708 km (440 miles)

3. Finnish name: Teno.  a river in NE Norway, flowing generally northeast as part of the border between Norway and Finland to the Arctic Ocean by Tana Fjord. Length: about 320 km (200 miles)

---

tana ² British  

/ ˈtɑːnə /

noun

1. a small Madagascan lemur, Phaner furcifer

2. a large tree shrew, Tupaia tana, of Sumatra and Borneo

---

Etymology

Origin of Tana

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

The root tana = they, is not illustrated without going as far as the Western Australian of Mr. Eyre.

From Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Commanded By the Late Captain Owen Stanley, R.N., F.R.S. Etc. During the Years 1846-1850. Including Discoveries and Surveys in New Guinea, the Louisiade Archipelago, Etc. to Which Is Added the Account of Mr. E.B. Kennedy's Expedition for the Exploration of the Cape York Peninsula. By John Macgillivray, F.R.G.S. Naturalist to the Expedition. — Volume 2 by MacGillivray, John

In one of my MSS., however, the reading is tane, the inflected form of tana, the "trunk of a tree," which is better sense.

From Bagh O Bahar, or Tales of the Four Darweshes by Forbes, Duncan

He belongs to the caste styled tana, or chieftains, a degree above that of rangatira, or simple gentlemen-warriors.

From Brighter Britain! (Volume 1 of 2) or Settler and Maori in Northern New Zealand by Hay, William Delisle

Oe and tana are never used now in place of the plural outou and tatou; but in old folk-lore it is the classical style of addressing the gods in the collective sense. 

From Modern Mythology by Lang, Andrew

Ngalmo, also, is expressly stated to mean many as well as they, a fact which confirms the view taken of tana.

From Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Commanded By the Late Captain Owen Stanley, R.N., F.R.S. Etc. During the Years 1846-1850. Including Discoveries and Surveys in New Guinea, the Louisiade Archipelago, Etc. to Which Is Added the Account of Mr. E.B. Kennedy's Expedition for the Exploration of the Cape York Peninsula. By John Macgillivray, F.R.G.S. Naturalist to the Expedition. — Volume 2 by MacGillivray, John