mana

[ mah-nah ]

/ ˈmɑ nɑ /

noun Anthropology.

a generalized, supernatural force or power, which may be concentrated in objects or persons.

Nearby words

man-to-man defense, man-trap, man-year, man., man. pr., mana, mana motuhake, manacle, manada, manado, manage

Origin of mana

Borrowed into English from Polynesian around 1835–45

Definition for mana (2 of 3)

Mana

[ man-ey ]

/ ˈmæn eɪ /

noun

Mannai.

Definition for mana (3 of 3)

Mannai

or Man·a, Min·ni

[ man-ey ]

/ ˈmæn eɪ /

noun

an ancient kingdom in Iran, in Kurdistan.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
If one knocks out the tooth of a workingman, he shall pay of a mana of silver.
Archology and the Bible|George A. Barton
One characteristic fact clearly shows the fundamental reason which has kept the idea of the mana so specialized in Australia.
The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life|Emile Durkheim
First of all, it presupposes the notion of mana or the totemic principle of which it is only a special form.
The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life|Emile Durkheim

Each name marked the peculiar "mana" or divine gift which Hina, the mother, had bestowed upon her daughters.
Legends of Ma-ui--a demi god of Polynesia, and of his mother Hina|W. D. Westervelt
One is worn by the girl, and the mana is covered with the other.
Castes and Tribes of Southern India|Edgar Thurston

British Dictionary definitions for mana

mana

/ (ˈmɑːnə) /

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