mana

Noun

mana (usually uncountable, plural manas)

1. Power, prestige; specifically, a form of supernatural energy in Polynesian religion that inheres in things or people. [from 19th c.]
   • 1862 January 25, Thomas H. Smith, “No. 4: Second Report from T. H. Smith, Esq., R.M.”, in Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives of New Zealand. From the Seventh Day of July to the Fifteenth Day of September, 1862 both Days Inclusive. In the Twenty-sixth Day of the Reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. Being the Second Session of the Third Parliament of New Zealand, Wellington: Printed by W. C. Wilson for the House of Representatives, at the printing office, Shortland Crescent, Auckland, OCLC 276727197, pages 10 and 12:

     [page 10] I have the honor to report, for the information of the Government, the result of my visit to Maketu and the Lake District, and the preliminary arrangements made for introducing the new system of Government for the Natives. […] [page 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: Studies in Popular Beliefs in 16th and 17th Century England, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, OCLC 71368859; republished London: Folio Society, 2012, OCLC 805007047, page 193:

     But in popular estimation their essential virtue derived from the personal mana of the sovereign.

   • 1999, Pat Hohepa, “My Musket, My Missionary and My Mana”, in Alex Calder, Jonathan Lamb, and Bridget Orr, editors, Voyages and Beaches: Pacific Encounters, 1769–1840, Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, →ISBN, page 197:

     It can be seen, therefore, that mana 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. […] One can speak of the mana of a warrior, the mana of a woman leader, the mana of a child prodigy.

   • 2001 September, Aldo Matteucci, “Language and Diplomacy – A Practitioner's View”, in Jovan Kurbalija and Hannah Slavik, editors, Language and Diplomacy, Malta: DiploProjects, Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies, University of Malta, →ISBN, page 61:

     Among the Maori sovereignty was the result of mana—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: The Salvation Army and Māori”, in Hugh [Douglas] Morrison, Lachy Paterson, Brett Knowles, and 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 their mana and invasions of their rights as tangata whenua.

2. (fantasy role-playing games) Magical power.
   • 2003 May 20, “Bear”, “Makes Lovely Julienne Ogres …”, in rec.games.roguelike.angband, Usenet‎, message-ID <3EC9C629.4DF117C@sonic.net>:

     […] Teleporting from an open room where there were a dozen black orcs firing bows […] landed me, low on mana 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”, in Fundamentals of Game Design, 2nd edition, Berkeley, Calif.: New Riders, →ISBN, page 580:

     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.

Noun

mana (plural manas)

1. Alternative form of mina (“ancient unit of weight or currency”).

Noun

mana (plural manas)

1. Alternative spelling of manna.

Synonyms

• perdó?

Noun

mana

1. death, Death (personification of death)

Noun

mana

1. mana

Verb

mana (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative manaði, supine manað)

1. to dare (someone to do something)

Noun

mana n (genitive singular mana, no plural)

1. (gaming, role playing) mana

Derived terms

• di mana
• ke mana
• yang mana

Declension

Usage notes

Only comes in the following form di mana (“at, in where”), ke mana (“to where”) and yang mana (“which one”).

Descendants

• → English: mana

See also

• -chu

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mǎːna/
• Hyphenation: ma‧na
• Rhymes: -ǎːna

Noun

mána f (Cyrillic spelling ма́на)

1. fault, defect, shortcoming

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mâna/
• Hyphenation: ma‧na

Noun

mȁna f (Cyrillic spelling ма̏на)

1. manna

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mâna/
• Hyphenation: ma‧na

Noun

mȁna f (Cyrillic spelling ма̏на)

1. mana

Conjugation

See also

• anmana
• förmana
• maning
• uppmana

Declension

Synonyms

• anlam