mana

[mah-nah]

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.

Mannai

or Man·a, Min·ni

[man-ey]

noun

an ancient kingdom in Iran, in Kurdistan.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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.”
The Home-Birth Rebellion
Brandy Zadrozny
February 7, 2014

Historical Examples of mana

Well, Mana'lio, the chief here, wants a white man to live with him.
John Frewen, South Sea Whaler
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.
Magic and Religion
Andrew Lang
If she had no dowry, he shall give her one mana of silver for a divorce.
Archology and the Bible
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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for mana

"power, authority, supernatural power," 1843, from Maori, "power, authority, supernatural power."