Petty Officer Shane Westbrook of theRoyal New Zealand Navy leading theNew Zealand Defence Force ’s Maori Cultural Group during a commemorative service on 8 August 2015 held to mark the 100th anniversary of theBattle of Chunuk Bair which took place duringWorld War I atGallipoli in theOttoman Empire (nowTurkey ) Borrowed fromMaori mana , ultimately fromProto-Polynesian *mana , fromProto-Oceanic *mana .
The use of "mana" for "magical energy" in video games originated fromLarry Niven , when he wrote the short story, "Not Long Before the End ", in 1969. It was later popularised by hisThe Magic Goes Away setting.
mana (usuallyuncountable ,plural manas )
Power ,prestige ;specifically , a form ofsupernatural energy inPolynesian religion thatinheres inthings orpeople .[from 19th c.] 1862 January 25, Thomas H. Smith, chapter 4, inAppendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives of New Zealand , Wellington:House of Representatives ,→OCLC ,pages10 and 12 :They further required that a certain number of the old Chiefs should be liberally pensioned by the Government, and placed upon a footing of equality with European gentlemen of independent means, in consideration of their resigning their "mana " as Chiefs in favor of the new system[ …]
1971 ,Keith Thomas ,Religion and the Decline of Magic , London:Weidenfeld & Nicolson ,OCLC 71368859 ; republished London:Folio Society , 2012,OCLC 805007047 , page 193:But in popular estimation their essential virtue derived from the personalmana of the sovereign. 1999 , Pat Hohepa, “My Musket, My Missionary and MyMana ”, in Alex Calder, Jonathan Lamb, Bridget Orr, editors,Voyages and Beaches , Honolulu:University of Hawaiʻi Press ,→ISBN , page197 :It can be seen, therefore, thatmana is a nonvisible changing measure; it can remain static, increase, or decrease, depending on the actions or inaction of the recipient, and it can be enhanced or diminished.
2001 September, Aldo Matteucci, “Language and Diplomacy – A Practitioner's View”, in Jovan Kurbalija, Hannah Slavik, editors,Language and Diplomacy , Malta: DiploProjects, Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies,University of Malta ,→ISBN , page61 :Among the Maori sovereignty was the result ofmana —power based on hereditary rank and personal achievement.Manas could coexist and overlap, as they did in the medieval times in Europe.
2012 , Harold Hill, “Te Ope Whakaora, the Army that Brings Life”, in Hugh[ Douglas] Morrison, Lachy Paterson, Brett Knowles, Murray Rae, editors,Mana Māori and Christianity , Wellington:Huia Publishers ,→ISBN :On a number of occasions in recent years apologies have been offered to Māori because of past offences to theirmana and invasions of their rights astangata whenua . ( fantasy roleplaying games ) Magical energy .1977 ,David Hargrave , “Magik, What It Is and What It Does” (chapter VII), inThe Arduin Grimoire :However,all such magik requires the mages [sic ] own "MANA " or "internal power" to make it work. Without themana , a spoken spell is just so much gibberish.
2003 May 20, "Bear", “Makes Lovely Julienne Ogres …”, inrec.games.roguelike.angband [4] (Usenet ), message-ID <3EC9C629.4DF117C@sonic.net>:[ …] Teleporting from an open room where there were a dozen black orcs firing bows[ …] landed me, low onmana and hitpoints, in a room full of gnome mages who instantly summoned four umber hulks and a xorn!
2010 , Ernest Adams, “Artifical Life and Puzzle Games”, inFundamentals of Game Design , 2nd edition, Berkeley, Calif.:New Riders ,→ISBN , page580 :Mana often grows in exponential proportion to population size, so as the population increases the player acquires vastly greater powers—a progression that god games share with spellcaster characters in role-playing games.
2023 December 1, Evelynn Kersting, “Games and Time”, inUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee [5] , page226 [6] , archived fromthe original on6 June 2025 :The player starts with nomana crystals, and gets one on their first turn, meaning an 8-mana card cannot be played until turn 8.
mana (plural manas )
Alternative form ofmina ( “ ancient unit of weight or currency ” ) .mana (uncountable )
Alternative spelling ofmanna .mana
ablessing mana
toswallow Hyphenation:ma‧na IPA (key ) : /ˈmana/ [ˈma.n̪a] mana
toinherit Synonyms: eredar ,lubos mana
place mana
sorry ,pardon ( I did not hear you ) Synonym: perdó? mana
inflection ofmanar : third-person singular present indicative second-person singular imperative Fromhuman +na , literally“ it is finished ” .
IPA (key ) : /maˈna/ [mɐˈn̪a] Hyphenation:ma‧na maná (Badlit spelling ᜋᜈ )
( colloquial ) specifies that the action is finished or completed Mana mi'g kaon. ―We are done eating. Mana ko'g luto og utan. ―I am done cooking vegetables. Borrowed fromLate Latin manna .
mana f
( biblical ) manna Declension ofmana (hard feminine )
mànǎ
water Tanyi Eyong Mbuagbaw,The Denya Noun Class System , in theJournal of West African Languages mana
sign ,omen miracle ,wonder ( usecakamana to specify this meaning ) antidote ( usemana kina to specify this meaning ) ( biblical ) manna mana
so be it , let it be so( addressed to a heathen deity ) IPA (key ) : /ˈmɑnɑ/ ,[ˈmɑ̝nɑ̝] Rhymes:-ɑnɑ Syllabification(key ) :ma‧na Hyphenation(key ) :ma‧na Probably fromProto-Finnic *mana (compareSouthern Sami muonese ( “ (good or bad) spirit, omen ” ) ). Alternatively possibly a back-formation ofmanala , which could then originate frommaan alla ( “ under the ground ” ) .
mana
death ,Death ( personification of death ) FromMaori mana .
mana
mana mana m (plural manas )
( religion ) mana mana
torebuke mana m
a piece ofmeat See also manako (meat),manabee (body),manae (to go to where there is meat)
FromProto-Polynesian *mana , fromProto-Oceanic *mana .
mana
mana ( religious or spiritualpower ) power ,authority mana ( stative )
havingmana ;divinely powerful ,spiritual FromProto-Polynesian *maŋa ( “ branch, fork ” ) . Cognate withMaori manga ( “ tree branch ” ) .
mana
( of a tree ) crotch ,branch crosspiece branch ( of a road, river, etc. ) variant ,version mana
( stative ) branching ,forking Ultimately fromProto-Germanic *manōną . Possibly borrowed throughMiddle Low German orGerman mahnen ( “ to urge ” ) .
mana (weak verb ,third-person singular past indicative manaði ,supine manað )
todare ( someone to do something ) 1 Spoken form, usually not written; in writing, the unappended plural form (optionally followed by the full pronoun) is preferred.
1 Spoken form, usually not written; in writing, the unappended plural form (optionally followed by the full pronoun) is preferred.
Borrowed fromEnglish mana , fromProto-Polynesian *mana , fromProto-Oceanic *mana .
mana n (genitive singular mana ,no plural )
( gaming , role playing) mana Declension ofmana (sg-only neuter ) singular indefinite definite nominative mana manað accusative mana manað dative mana mananu genitive mana manans
FromMalay mana .
mana
where ,which mana
where ,which ( colloquial , in some contexts only) not ,doesn't ( negates meaning of verb ) FromEnglish mana , fromMaori mana , ultimately fromProto-Polynesian *mana , fromProto-Oceanic *mana ( “ natural power; thunder, storm wind ” ) .
mana (plural mana -mana )
mana : A form of supernatural energy in Polynesian religion that inheres in things or peopleFromLate Latin manna , fromAncient Greek μάννα ( mánna ) , fromHebrew מן ( mān ,“ 'manna ” ) .
mana (plural mana -mana )
( biblical ) manna : Food miraculously produced for the Israelites in the desert in the book of ExodusFromOld Irish manadh , from aProto-Celtic derivative ofProto-Indo-European *men- ( “ to think ” ) , the source ofLatin moneo ( “ I advise, warn ” ) .[ 1]
mana m (genitive singular mana ,nominative plural manaí )
portent ,sign attitude ,outlook motto Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish. All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.
Frommano , with a vowel change by analogy of the word's gender. CompareNeapolitan mana ,Romanian mână .
mana f (plural mane )
( regional ) alternative form ofmano Borrowed fromEnglish mana .
mana m (uncountable )
( fantasy roleplaying games ) mana This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with theIPA then please add some!
mana f
mother mana
Rōmaji transcription ofまな Rōmaji transcription ofマナ mānā
second-person singular present active imperative ofmānō mana
inflection ofmans : genitive singular masculine nominative / vocative singular feminine mana
third-person singular / plural present indicative ofmanīt ( with the particlelai ) third-person singular imperative ofmanīt ( with the particlelai ) third-person plural imperative ofmanīt mana
Latin spelling ofმანა ( mana ) mana
alternative form ofmána :older /oldest sister (Thisetymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at theEtymology scriptorium .)
mana (Jawi spelling مان )
where (incomplete withoutke ,di ordari )which (used withyang )Occurs in the following constructions:di mana? ( “ where? ” ) ,dari mana? ( “ whence? from where? ” ) ,ke mana? ( “ whither?, to where? ” ) ,macam mana? ( “ how? ” ) andyang mana? ( “ which (one)? ” ) .
FromProto-Polynesian *mana , fromProto-Oceanic *mana .
mana
power ;mana 2006 , Joanne Barker,Sovereignty Matters ,page208 :Ko te reo te mauri o temana Maori. The language is the life principle of Maorimana . FromMiddle Low German [Term?] .
mana
toencourage ,urge Norwegian Nynorsk:mana ,mane ( e infinitive ) Norwegian Bokmål:mane “mana” inThe Nynorsk Dictionary .mana
nose Ultimately fromLatin manus .
mana f
hand mana
inflection ofmannat : present indicative connegative second-person singular imperative imperative connegative FromMiddle Norwegian mana , fromMiddle Low German [Term?] .
mana (present tense manar ,past tense mana ,past participle mana ,passive infinitive manast ,present participle manande ,imperative mana /man )
toencourage ,urge See the etymology of the correspondinglemma form.
mana
definite singular ofman “mana” inThe Nynorsk Dictionary .mana
genitive plural ofman mana
indefinite genitive plural ofmǫn FromProto-Cushitic *min- ( “ house, to build ” ) . Cognates includeBurji mina ,Hadiyya mine andSidamo mine . Compare alsoEgyptian jmn ( “ to create ” ) .
mana
house Alternative scripts
𑀫𑀦 ( Brahmi script ) मन ( Devanagari script ) মন ( Bengali script ) මන ( Sinhalese script ) မန orမၼ ( Burmese script ) มน orมะนะ ( Thai script ) ᨾᨶ ( Tai Tham script ) ມນ orມະນະ ( Lao script ) មន ( Khmer script ) 𑄟𑄚 ( Chakma script ) mana m or n
Interpretation of many of the inflectional forms ofmanas ( “ mind ” ) vocative singular ofmanas Borrowed fromMaori mana , fromProto-Polynesian *mana , fromProto-Oceanic *mana .
IPA (key ) : /ˈma.na/ Rhymes:-ana Syllabification:ma‧na mana f
mana ( form of supernatural energy in Polynesian religion that inheres in things or people ) ( fantasy roleplaying games ) mana ( magical power ) mana in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Rhymes:( Portugal ) -ɐnɐ ,( Brazil ) -ɐ̃nɐ Hyphenation:ma‧na Borrowed fromSpanish mana ,clipping ofhermana ( “ sister ” ) .
mana f (plural manas )
( colloquial , familiar ) female equivalent ofmano :sister Borrowed fromEnglish mana , fromMaori mana .
mana m or f (uncountable )
( religion ) mana ( form of supernatural energy in Polynesian religion ) ( fantasy roleplaying games ) mana ( magical power ) See the etymology of the correspondinglemma form.
mana
inflection ofmanar : third-person singular present indicative second-person singular imperative “mana ”, inDicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025 “mana ” inDicionário Aberto based onNovo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo , 1913 “mana ”, inDicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2025 “mana ”, inDicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025 “mana ”, inDicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025 mana
not no FromProto-Polynesian *mana , fromProto-Oceanic *mana .
mana
power divine authority mana
heritage From a dialectal vulgarism ofOttoman Turkish بهانه ( bahane ) , either in the form of "mahane" or "mana",[ 1] fromPersian بهانه ( bahâne ,“ excuse ” ) . Related toMacedonian маана ( maana ) ,Bulgarian махана ( mahana ) ,Albanian mahanë - all borrowed from Ottoman Turkish.
mána f (Cyrillic spelling ма́на )
flaw ,fault ,shortcoming FromLatin manna , fromAncient Greek μάννα ( mánna ) , fromHebrew מן ( mān ,“ 'manna ” ) .
IPA (key ) : /mâna/ Hyphenation:ma‧na mȁna f (Cyrillic spelling ма̏на )
manna Borrowed fromEnglish mana , fromProto-Polynesian *mana , fromProto-Oceanic *mana .
IPA (key ) : /mâna/ Hyphenation:ma‧na mȁna f (Cyrillic spelling ма̏на )
mana IPA (key ) : /ˈmana/ [ˈma.na] Rhymes:-ana Syllabification:ma‧na mana f (plural manas )
( slang , Mexico ) female equivalent ofmano mana
inflection ofmanar : third-person singular present indicative second-person singular imperative mana f (plural manas )
manna mana f (plural manas )
spring (of water)FromLow German manen , fromOld Saxon manon , fromProto-Germanic *manōną , cognate withOld English manian ( “ to remind ” ) .
mana (present manar ,preterite manade ,supine manat ,imperative mana )
toencourage orurge (someone) mana c
mana (supernatural power)FromProto-Malayo-Polynesian *mana ,*maña ( “ inherit; inheritance ” ) . CompareMalay manah ( “ heritage ” ) .
mana (Baybayin spelling ᜋᜈ )
heirloom ;inheritance ;heritage “mana ”, inPambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph , Manila,2018 FromProto-Polynesian *mana , fromProto-Oceanic *mana .
mana
power respect given in accordance to powerFromProto-Polynesian *mana , fromProto-Oceanic *mana .
mana
miracle mana
water C. L. Voorhoeve, 1975.Languages of Irian Jaya Checklist , Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, p.120 Bill Palmer, editor (2018 ),The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide , Padua: De Gruyter Mouton,→OCLC FromOttoman Turkish معنا , fromArabic مَعْنًى ( maʕnan ) (plural:مَعَانٍ ( maʕānin ) ).
IPA (key ) : /maːnaː/ ,[mɑːɲäː] ,( deprecated ) [mɑːnɑː] mana (definite accusative manayı ,plural manalar )
meaning mana
genitive singular ofman FromProto-Central Jê *mə̃nə̃ ( “ tail, penis ” ) <Proto-Cerrado *mbyn ( “ tail, penis ” ) <Proto-Jê *mbyn ( “ tail ” ) .
mana
Form ofbö (utterance-medial variant)mana
water Andrew Pawley,Papuan Pasts: Cultural, Linguistic and Biological Histories of Papuan-Speaking Peoples (2005)