Wiktionary

nana

See also: Appendix:Variations of "nana"
Languages (58)
English
Abidji • Asturian • Balinese • Bambara • Bikol Central • Catalan • Cebuano • Central Huasteca Nahuatl • Central Mazahua • Champenois • Chavacano • Chickasaw • Darkinjung • Ese • Esperanto • Fijian • French • Gabadi • Galician • Garawa • Hadza • Hawaiian • Herero • Ilocano • Isnag • Italian • Ivatan • Japanese • Kapampangan • Kituba • Krisa • Latin • Livonian • Lower Sorbian • Malay • Mansaka • Maori • Marshallese • Masbatenyo • Michoacán Mazahua • Murui Huitoto • Nias • Northern Paiute • Northern Sami • Oroqen • Portuguese • Sambali • Serbo-Croatian • Simeulue • Spanish • Tagalog • Tahitian • Toba Batak • Wanyi • Waray-Waray • Western Huasteca Nahuatl • Yogad
Page categories

English

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Etymology 1

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An aphetic form of banana.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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nana (plural nanas)

  1. (informal) A banana.
  2. (UK, slang) A foolish person.
    You look a right nana dressed up like that.
Alternative forms
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Etymology 2

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Variant spelling of nanna.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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nana (plural nanas) (informal)

  1. (term of endearment) One's grandmother.
  2. A nanny.
Alternative forms
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Anagrams

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Abidji

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Noun

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nana

  1. grandfather

Asturian

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈnana/ [ˈna.na]
  • Rhymes: -ana
  • Syllabification: na‧na

Adjective

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nana

  1. feminine singular of nanu

Balinese

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Romanization

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nana

  1. Romanization of ᬦᬦ
  2. Romanization of ᬦᬦᬵ

Bambara

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Pronunciation

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  This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Verb

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nana

  1. past of na

Bikol Central

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Etymology

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Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *nanaq, from Proto-Austronesian *naNaq.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈnanaʔ/ [ˈn̪a.n̪aʔ]
  • Hyphenation: na‧na

Noun

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nanà (Basahan spelling ᜈᜈ)

  1. pus

Derived terms

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Catalan

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Pronunciation

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Adjective

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nana

  1. feminine singular of nan

Noun

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nana f (plural nanes)

  1. female equivalent of nan (“dwarf”)
  2. female equivalent of nano (“boy”)
  3. Clipping of estrella nana (“dwarf star”)

Derived terms

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Cebuano

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Etymology

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Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *nanaq. Compare Malay nanah.

Pronunciation

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  • Hyphenation: na‧na
  • IPA(key): /ˈnanaʔ/ [ˈn̪a.n̪ɐʔ]

Noun

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nana

  1. (uncountable) pus

Central Huasteca Nahuatl

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Etymology

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This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “is this from Spanish nana?”

Noun

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nana

  1. mother.

Central Mazahua

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Etymology

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This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “is this from Spanish nana?”

Noun

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nana

  1. mother

Champenois

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Etymology

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(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

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nana

  1. (Sommepy) bread

References

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  • Tarbé, Prosper (1851) Recherches sur l'histoire du langage et des patois de Champagne‎[2] (in French), volume 1, Reims, page 168

Chavacano

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Etymology

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From Cebuano nana.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈnanaʔ/, [ˈna.naʔ]
  • Hyphenation: na‧na

Noun

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nanà

  1. (Zamboangueño) pus
    Synonym: (Caviteño, Ternateño) materia

Chickasaw

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

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  This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Pronoun

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nana

  1. something

Darkinjung

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Etymology

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(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

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  This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Pronoun

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nana

  1. him (3rd person singular accusative)

Ese

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Noun

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nana

  1. war

Esperanto

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Etymology

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From nano (“dwarf”, noun) +‎ -a (adjective ending), ultimately from Latin nānus.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈnana/
  • Rhymes: -ana
  • Hyphenation: na‧na

Adjective

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nana (accusative singular nanan, plural nanaj, accusative plural nanajn)

  1. dwarf

Fijian

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Etymology

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From Proto-Central-Pacific *nana, from Proto-Oceanic *nanaq, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *nanaq, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *nanaq, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *nanaq, from Proto-Austronesian *naNaq.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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nana

  1. pus (fluid found in regions of infection)

French

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Etymology

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Diminutive form of Anne, Anna, popularised after Zola's 1880 novel Nana.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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nana f (plural nanas)

  1. (slang) chick, bird (especially when attractive)
    Synonym: meuf
    • 2000, Frédéric Beigbeder, 99 francs‎[3], Gallimard, →ISBN, page 19:
      Je suis le type qui vous vend de la merde. Qui vous fait rêver de ces choses que vous n’aurez jamais. Ciel toujours bleu, nanas jamais moches, un bonheur parfait, retouché sur Photoshop.
      I'm the guy who sells you shit. Who makes you dream of those things you'll never have. A sky that's always blue; chicks who are never ugly; a perfect, Photoshopped happiness.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Gabadi

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Pronoun

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nana

  1. I; the first-person singular personal pronoun
    nana da aisa'aku ― I don't know.

References

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  • Oa, Morea and Ma`oni Paul. (2014-02-24). Tentative Grammar Description for the Gabadi Language. [working paper, draft created November 2013; editor: Eileen Gasaway]. Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea: SIL International. Available online: [4].
    • "nana" (1st person singular normal pronoun) - p.7
    • Example 1 - p.8

Galician

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Etymology

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Probably with ultimate origin in baby talk.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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nana f (plural nanas)

  1. (archaic) mother; mama

Derived terms

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References

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Garawa

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Etymology

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(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

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  This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Determiner

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nana

  1. that
    Synonym: nanda

References

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  • Ilana Mushin, A Grammar of (Western) Garrwa (2012)

Hadza

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Etymology

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naha +‎ -na

Pronunciation

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Adverb

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nana

  1. there

Hawaiian

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈna.na/, [ˈnɐ.nə]

Verb

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nana

  1. Lānaʻi form of ulana (“to plait”)

Herero

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Verb

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nana

  1. to pull

Ilocano

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Etymology

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From Proto-Philippine [Term?], from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *nanaq, from Proto-Austronesian *naNaq.

Pronunciation

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  • Hyphenation: na‧na
  • IPA(key): /ˈnana/

Noun

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nana

  1. pus (fluid found in regions of infection)

Isnag

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Etymology

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From Proto-Philippine [Term?], from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *nanaq, from Proto-Austronesian *naNaq.

Noun

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nána

  1. pus (fluid found in regions of infection)

Italian

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈna.na/
  • Rhymes: -ana
  • Hyphenation: nà‧na

Adjective

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nana

  1. feminine singular of nano

Noun

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nana f (plural nane)

  1. female equivalent of nano (“dwarf”)

Anagrams

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Ivatan

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Etymology

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From Proto-Philippine [Term?], from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *nanaq, from Proto-Austronesian *naNaq.

Pronunciation

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  This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Noun

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nana

  1. pus (fluid found in regions of infection)

Japanese

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Romanization

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nana

  1. Rōmaji transcription of なな

Kapampangan

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Etymology

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From Proto-Philippine [Term?], from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *nanaq, from Proto-Austronesian *naNaq.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈnanəʔ/ [ˈnäː.nəʔ]

Noun

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nánâ

  1. (pathology) pus

Kituba

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Numeral

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nana

  1. eight

Krisa

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Etymology

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(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

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  This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Pronoun

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nana

  1. I

Latin

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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nāna f (genitive nānae); first declension

  1. dwarf (female)

Declension

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First-declension noun.

singular plural
nominative nāna nānae
genitive nānae nānārum
dative nānae nānīs
accusative nānam nānās
ablative nānā nānīs
vocative nāna nānae
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References

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  • “nana”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • “nana”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers

Livonian

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Proto-Finnic *nenä.

Noun

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nana

  1. nose

Lower Sorbian

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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nana

  1. inflection of nan:
    1. genitive/accusative singular
    2. nominative dual

Malay

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Tamil அண்ணா (aṇṇā).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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nana (Jawi spelling نان, plural nana-nana)

  1. brother (older male sibling)

See also

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Mansaka

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Noun

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nana

  1. pus

Maori

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Etymology 1

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From Proto-Polynesian *naa-naa (“to look at something”).[1][2] Doublet of nānā.

Interjection

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nana

  1. lo, look, see, behold (imperative).

References

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  1. ^ Ross Clark and Simon J. Greenhill, editors (2011), “naa-naa”, in “POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online”, in Oceanic Linguistics, volume 50, number 2, pages 551-559
  2. ^ Tregear, Edward (1891) Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary‎[1], Wellington, New Zealand: Lyon and Blair, page 261

Etymology 2

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(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

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nana

  1. eyebrow

Further reading

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  • “nana” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori–English, English–Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.

Marshallese

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Etymology

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(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

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  • (phonetic) IPA(key): [nʲɑːnʲɑ], (enunciated) [nʲɑ nʲɑ]
  • (phonemic) IPA(key): /nʲæɰnʲæɰ/
  • Bender phonemes: {nahnah}

Adjective

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nana

  1. bad
  2. wicked
  3. evil
  4. inedible

References

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Masbatenyo

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Etymology

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From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *nanaq, from Proto-Austronesian *naNaq.

Noun

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nanà

  1. pus

Michoacán Mazahua

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Etymology

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This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “is this from Spanish nana?”

Noun

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nana

  1. mother

Murui Huitoto

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Etymology

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Cognates include Minica Huitoto nana and Nüpode Huitoto nana.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [ˈnana]
  • Hyphenation: na‧na

Determiner

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nana

  1. all

Pronoun

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nana

  1. all, everything, everyone
    • 1988, Homenaje a la Declaracion Universal de Derechos Humanos: Huitoto Murui [Homage to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Murui Huitoto], page 8:
      Nana caɨ comuillamona dama caɨ abɨdo itɨcaɨ.
      [We] all exist alone as to our growing with our bodies.

References

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  • Shirley Burtch (1983) Diccionario Huitoto Murui (Tomo I) (Linguistica Peruana No. 20)‎[5] (in Spanish), Yarinacocha, Peru: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, page 187
  • Katarzyna Izabela Wojtylak (2017) A grammar of Murui (Bue): a Witotoan language of Northwest Amazonia.‎[6], Townsville: James Cook University press (PhD thesis), page 154

Nias

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Etymology

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From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *nanaq, from Proto-Austronesian *naNaq.

Pronunciation

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  This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Noun

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nana (mutated form nana)

  1. pus (fluid found in regions of infection)

Northern Paiute

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Etymology

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Compare Cahuilla náxanish

Pronunciation

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Noun

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nana (plural naana)

  1. man

Northern Sami

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Adjective

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nana

  1. attributive of nanus

Oroqen

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Noun

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nana

  1. skin, hide

Portuguese

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Noun

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nana f (plural nanas)

  1. nap; a quick or little sleep
    Synonyms: soneca, cochilo

Etymology 2

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Verb

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nana

  1. inflection of nanar:
    1. third-person singular present indicative
    2. second-person singular imperative

Sambali

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Noun

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nana

  1. aunt

Noun

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nanà

  1. pus

Serbo-Croatian

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Etymology 1

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Of expressive/onomatopoetic origin.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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nána f (Cyrillic spelling на́на)

  1. mother
  2. grandmother

Etymology 2

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Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish نعنع (nane), from Arabic نَعْنَع (naʕnaʕ), نَعْنَاع (naʕnāʕ).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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nána f (Cyrillic spelling на́на)

  1. mint
    Synonym: mètvica

References

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  • “nana”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025
  • “nana”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025

Simeulue

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Etymology

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From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *nanaq, from Proto-Austronesian *naNaq.

Pronunciation

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  This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Noun

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nana

  1. pus (fluid found in regions of infection)

Spanish

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Etymology 1

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Ultimately imitative of a child babbling.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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nana f (plural nanas)

  1. (Latin America) nanny
    Synonyms: niñera, ama
  2. (colloquial) granny, grandmother
    Synonyms: abuela, yaya
  3. (Chile) housekeeper
  4. lullaby
    Synonym: canción de cuna
  5. a kind of small sack
  6. (dated, Guatemala) mommy; mom; mother
Coordinate terms
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Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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Borrowed from Quechua nanay (“pain”).

Noun

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nana f (plural nanas)

  1. (Rioplatense, Chile, childish) boo-boo
    Synonyms: pupa, yaya
  2. (Rioplatense, Paraguay, chiefly in the plural) pains and aches of old age
    Synonym: achaque

Further reading

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Tagalog

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Etymology 1

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Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *nanaq, from Proto-Austronesian *naNaq. Compare Malay nanah.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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nanà (Baybayin spelling ᜈᜈ)

  1. pus; matter
    Synonym: agwasa
Derived terms
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See also

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Etymology 2

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From Philippine Spanish nana (“mommy”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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nana (Baybayin spelling ᜈᜈ)

  1. aunt
    Synonyms: tiya, tita, tiyang, tiyahin, ale, ante, inda
  2. (obsolete, Manila) mother
    Synonyms: ina, nanay, mama
Coordinate terms
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Etymology 3

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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nanâ (Baybayin spelling ᜈᜈ)

  1. (obsolete) name of the Baybayin letter ᜈ, corresponding to "na"

See also

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Further reading

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Tahitian

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Etymology

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(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

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Interjection

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nana

  1. bye, goodbye

Toba Batak

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *nanaq, from Proto-Austronesian *naNaq.

Pronunciation

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  This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Noun

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nana (Batak spelling ᯉᯉ)

  1. pus (fluid found in regions of infection)

Wanyi

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Etymology

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(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

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  This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Determiner

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nana

  1. that

References

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  • Mary Laughren, Rob Pensalfini, Tom Mylne, Accounting for verb-initial order in an Australian language, in Verb First: On the syntax of verb-initial languages (2005)

Waray-Waray

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Noun

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nanà

  1. pus; abscess

Western Huasteca Nahuatl

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Etymology

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This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “is this from Spanish nana?”

Noun

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nana

  1. mother.

Yogad

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Noun

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naná

  1. pus; abscess
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