CS Knowledge Base

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmɑː.nə/, /ˈmæ-/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmɑ.nə/, /ˈmæ-/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈmana/

• Audio (New Zealand):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːnə
• Hyphenation: ma‧na

Borrowed from Māori mana, ultimately from Proto-Polynesian *mana, from Proto-Oceanic *mana.

The use of "mana" for "magical energy" in role-playing games originated from Larry Niven, when he wrote the short story, "Not Long Before the End", in 1969. It was later popularised by his The Magic Goes Away setting.

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, chapter 4, in Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives of New Zealand, Wellington: House of Representatives, →OCLC, pages 10 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 […]

   • 1920, Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., page 61:

     The human tribe partakes of the mana or life-force of the animal, and is strengthened […]

   • 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 personal mana of the sovereign.

   • 1999, Pat Hohepa, “My Musket, My Missionary and My Mana”, in Alex Calder, Jonathan Lamb, Bridget Orr, editors, Voyages and Beaches, 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.

   • 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, 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”, 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 their mana and invasions of their rights as tangata whenua.

2. (fantasy roleplaying games) Magical energy.
   • 1969 April, Larry Niven, “Not Long Before the End”, in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction:

     Mana is the name we give to the power behind magic.

   • 1977, David Hargrave, “Magik, What It Is and What It Does” (chapter VII), in The Arduin Grimoire:

     However, all such magik requires the mages [sic] own "MANA" or "internal power" to make it work. Without the mana, a spoken spell is just so much gibberish.

   • 1993, Richard Garfield, “Overview of Play”, in Magic: The Gathering: A Fantasy Trading Card Game [rulebook]‎^[3], Limited Edition Alpha edition, Wizards of the Coast, archived from the original on 8 March 2013, page 9:

     Lands generate mana, which is required to cast spells.

   • 2003 May 20, "Bear", “Makes Lovely Julienne Ogres …”, in rec.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 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.

   • 2023 December 1, Evelynn Kersting, “Games and Time”, in University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee‎^[5], archived from the original on 7 June 2025, page 226‎^[6], archived from the original on 6 June 2025:

     The player starts with no mana crystals, and gets one on their first turn, meaning an 8-mana card cannot be played until turn 8.

mana (plural manas)

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

mana (uncountable)

1. Alternative spelling of manna.

• mana on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

• Nama, naam

mana

1. indefinite nominative/accusative plural of man

• IPA^(key): [mɾ̃ã̄]

mana

1. a blessing

mana

1. to swallow

• Bassa-English Dictionary
• 2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.

mana

1. place

• Antoinette Schapper, The Papuan Languages of Timor, Alor and Pantar: Volume 1 (2014), p. 162
• Hein Steinhauer, "Going" and "Coming" in the Blagar of Dolap (Pura–Alor–Indonesia)

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central) [ˈma.nə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia, Northwestern) [ˈma.na]

mana

1. sorry, pardon (I did not hear you)

   Synonym: perdó?

mana

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

• humana

From human + na, literally “it is finished”.

• IPA^(key): /maˈna/ [maˈn̪a]
• Hyphenation: ma‧na

maná (Badlit spelling ᜋᜈ)

1. (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.

• Hyphenation: ma‧na
• IPA^(key): /ˈmana/ [ˈma.n̪a]

mana

1. to inherit

   Synonyms: eredar, lubos

mana (Basahan spelling ᜋᜈ)

1. heirloom; inheritance; heritage

Possibly from the inability of Spanish speakers to pronounce the /ŋ/ sound of Hiligaynon mga (“used to pluralize nouns”).

• IPA^(key): /maˈna/ [ma.ˈna]
• Hyphenation: ma‧na

maná

1. alternative form of maga

Borrowed from Late Latin manna.

• IPA^(key): [ˈmana]
• Hyphenation: ma‧na
• Rhymes: -ana

mana f

1. (biblical) manna

• “mana”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “mana”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

mànǎ

1. water

• Tanyi Eyong Mbuagbaw, The Denya Noun Class System, in the Journal of West African Languages

From Proto-Central Pacific *mana, from Proto-Oceanic *mana. Compare Māori and Hawaiian mana.

mana

1. (specifically) mana (personal power, prestige and effectiveness)

   E levu na mana ni turaga.

   The chief has great mana.

2. (in general) power, influence, prestige

   Na mana ni tamata e tiko e na uluna.

   A person's power resides in his/her head.

3. miracle, wonder (wonderful supernatural event or fortunate outcome)

   Synonym: cakamana

mana

1. to come about, to have effect, to bear fruit (to produce good results)

   E sega ni mana na vuaviri.

   No good will come from the coup.

   Era sega ni tokona na Charter e na sega ni mana na kena cakacakataki.

   They don't support the Charter since no good will come from putting it into effect.

mana!

1. so be it!, amen! (expression of empowerment at end of ceremonies)

   Near-synonyms: ameni, (Christianity) emeni

   Me yaco mada oqori. Mana!

   Let that come to pass. So be it!

The interjection mana! is a pre-Christian Fijian expression equivalent to English amen, traditionally pronounced at the end of ceremonies to invoke empowerment or fulfilment. In Christian contexts, ameni or emeni (borrowed from English) are preferred instead.

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

manā

1. scorpion mud lobster (Thalassina anomala)

   Synonym: tola

   Sa daba na mana.

   The mud lobsters are bearing eggs.

   Sa draudrau na mana.

   The mud lobsters are out of season. (not in good condition for eating)

• cevucevu (burrow entrance of mud lobster)
• daba (edible red egg sac of mud lobster)
• kuco (“to plug up mud lobster holes”)
• la'i tavitavi (“to go snaring mud lobster”)

• Gatty, Ronald (2009), “mana”, in Fijian–English Dictionary‎^[7], Suva, Fiji: Ronald Gatty, →ISBN, page 155

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɑnɑ/, [ˈmɑ̝nɑ̝]
• Rhymes: -ɑnɑ
• Syllabification^(key): ma‧na
• Hyphenation^(key): ma‧na

Probably from Proto-Finnic *mana (compare Southern Sami muonese (“(good or bad) spirit, omen”)). Alternatively possibly a back-formation of manala, which could then originate from maan alla (“under the ground”).

mana

1. death, Death (personification of death)

• (death): kuolema, kuolo, tuoni

• nouns: manala (if not back-formation)
• verbs: mennä manalle, mennä manan majoille

• “1. mana”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[8] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 1 July 2023

From Māori mana.

mana

1. mana

• “2. mana”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[9] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 1 July 2023

• Maan, maan

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

mana m (plural manas)

1. (religion) mana

• “mana”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

mana

1. to rebuke

• IPA^(key): /mana/

mana m

1. a piece of meat

See also manako (meat), manabee (body), manae (to go to where there is meat)

• IPA^(key): /ˈma.na/, [ˈmɐ.nə]

From Proto-Polynesian *mana, from Proto-Oceanic *mana.

mana

1. mana (religious or spiritual power)
2. power, authority

mana(stative)

1. having mana; divinely powerful, spiritual

• hoʻomana (causative)

From Proto-Polynesian *maŋa (“branch, fork”). Cognate with Māori manga (“tree branch”).

mana

1. (of a tree) crotch, branch
2. crosspiece
3. branch (of a road, river, etc.)
4. variant, version

mana

1. (stative) branching, forking

• manamana (“finger”)

• mana in Combined Hawaiian Dictionary, at trussel2.com.

• IPA^(key): [ˈmaːna]
• Rhymes: -aːna

Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *manōną. Possibly borrowed through Middle Low German or German mahnen (“to urge”).

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

1. to dare (someone to do something)

Borrowed from English mana, from Proto-Polynesian *mana, from Proto-Oceanic *mana.

mana n (genitive singular mana, no plural)

1. (gaming, role playing) mana

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈmana/ [ˈma.na]
• Rhymes: -ana
• Syllabification: ma‧na

Inherited from Malay mana.

mana

1. where, which

mana

1. where, which
2. (colloquial, in some contexts only) not, doesn't (negates meaning of verb)

Learned borrowing from Māori mana, ultimately from Proto-Polynesian *mana, from Proto-Oceanic *mana.

mana (plural mana-mana)

1. mana: A form of supernatural energy in Polynesian religion that inheres in things or people

Learned borrowing from Biblical Hebrew מן (mān, “'manna”).

mana (plural mana-mana)

1. (biblical) manna: Food miraculously produced for the Israelites in the desert in the book of Exodus

• “mana”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

From Old Irish manadh, from a Proto-Celtic derivative of Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to think”), the source of Latin moneo (“to advise, warn”).^[1]

mana m (genitive singular mana, nominative plural manaí)

1. portent, sign
2. attitude, outlook
3. motto

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “mana”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla [Irish–English Dictionary], Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN

From mano, with a vowel change by analogy of the word's gender. Compare Neapolitan mana, Romanian mână.

mana f (plural mane)

1. (regional) alternative form of mano

Borrowed from English mana.

mana m (uncountable)

1. (fantasy roleplaying games) mana

Inherited from Ancient Greek μάμμη (mámmē). Cognate with Greek μάνα (mána).

mana f

1. mother

mana

1. Rōmaji transcription of まな
2. Rōmaji transcription of マナ

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈmaː.naː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈmaː.na]

mānā

1. second-person singular present active imperative of mānō

mana

1. inflection of mans:
   1. genitive singular masculine
   2. nominative/vocative singular feminine

mana

1. third-person singular/plural present indicative of manīt
2. (with the particle lai) third-person singular imperative of manīt
3. (with the particle lai) third-person plural imperative of manīt

mana

1. Latin spelling of მანა (mana)

mana

1. alternative form of mána: older / oldest sister

• mn (text messaging)
• mane (pronunciation spelling)
• manoi (pronunciation spelling)

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

• (Southern Peninsular Malaysia Standard) IPA^(key): /ˈmanə/ [ˈma.nə]
  • Rhymes: -anə
• (Literary Standard) IPA^(key): /ˈmana/ [ˈma.na]
  • Rhymes: -ana
• Hyphenation: ma‧na

mana (Jawi spelling مان)

1. where (interrogative: at or in what place. Incomplete without ke, di or dari).

   Di mana awak tinggal?

   Where do you live?

   Awak hendak pergi ke mana?

   Where do you want to go (to)?

2. (colloquial) how (used in rhetorical questions, expressing impossibility, or as a clipping of macam mana).

   Synonyms: macam mana, bagaimana

   Mana saya nak tahu?

   How should I know?

   Mana boleh buat begini?

   How can you do this? (You can't do this!)

mana (Jawi spelling مان)

1. which (optionally used with yang)

   Baju (yang) mana satu pilihan hati?

   Which shirt is the one of your choice?

2. any; whatever.

   Ambillah mana yang awak suka.

   Take whichever (any that) you like.

Occurs in the following constructions: di mana? (“where?”), dari mana? (“whence? from where?”), ke mana? (“whither?, to where?”), macam mana? (“how?”) and yang mana? (“which (one)?”).

• > Indonesian: mana (inherited)

• "mana" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017
  (also see "mana" at PRPM first version)

From Proto-Polynesian *mana, from Proto-Oceanic *mana.

• IPA^(key): /ˈmana/ [ˈmɐnɐ]

mana

1. power; mana
   • 2006, Joanne Barker, Sovereignty Matters, page 208:

     Ko te reo te mauri o te mana Maori.

     The language is the life principle of Maori mana.

• → English: mana

From Middle Low German [Term?].

mana

1. to encourage, urge

• Norwegian Nynorsk: mana, mane (e infinitive)
• Norwegian Bokmål: mane

• “mana” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

mana

1. nose

• mano

Inherited from Latin manus, from Proto-Italic *manus.

• (Naples) IPA^(key): /ˈma.nə/, [ˈmɑːnɐ]

mana f (plural mmane)

1. hand

• (Kautokeino) IPA^(key): /ˈmana/

mana

1. inflection of mannat:
   1. present indicative connegative
   2. second-person singular imperative
   3. imperative connegative

From Middle Norwegian mana, from Middle Low German [Term?].

• mane (e infinitive)

mana (present tense manar, past tense mana, past participle mana, passive infinitive manast, present participle manande, imperative mana/man)

1. to encourage, urge

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

mana

1. definite singular of man

• “mana” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

mana

1. genitive plural of man

mana

1. indefinite genitive plural of mǫn

Cognate with Burji mina, Hadiyya mine and Sidamo mine. Compare also Egyptian jmn (“to create”).

mana

1. house

• Ettore, Viterbo (1892), Grammatica e dizionario della lingua oromonica (galla) (in Italian), Milano: Hoepli, →ISBN, page 101
• Gamtaa, Xilaahun (2004), Galmee Afaan Oromo fi Afaan Ingilizii Barsiisuu - Comprehensive Oromo-English-Dictionary (COED), New York, USA: Karrayyuu Publishing, →ISBN, page 571

mana m or n

1. Interpretation of many of the inflectional forms of manas (“mind”)
2. vocative singular of manas

Borrowed from Māori mana, from Proto-Polynesian *mana, from Proto-Oceanic *mana.

• IPA^(key): /ˈma.na/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ana
• Syllabification: ma‧na

mana f

1. mana (form of supernatural energy in Polynesian religion that inheres in things or people)
2. (fantasy roleplaying games) mana (magical power)

• “mana”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[10] (in Polish)

• Rhymes: -ɐnɐ
• Hyphenation: ma‧na

Borrowed from Spanish mana, clipping of hermana (“sister”).

mana f (plural manas)

1. (colloquial, familiar) female equivalent of mano: sister

Borrowed from English mana, from Māori mana.

mana m or f (uncountable)

1. (religion) mana (form of supernatural energy in Polynesian religion)
2. (fantasy roleplaying games) mana (magical power)

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

mana

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

• “mana”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “mana” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
• “mana”, in Dicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2026
• “mana”, in Dicionário Infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “mana”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

mana

1. not
2. no

   Antonym: arí (“yes”)

• -chu

From Proto-Polynesian *mana, from Proto-Oceanic *mana.

mana

1. power
2. divine authority

mana

1. heritage

From Proto-Polynesian *mana, from Proto-Oceanic *mana.

mana

1. mana (religious or spiritual power)

• Milner, G.B. (1993), Samoan Dictionary, Auckland: Polynesian Press, →ISBN, page 128

• mura, mur, man

From Old Irish mani (“if not, unless”)^[1], the negative form of má (“if”).

• (Lewis) IPA^(key): /manə/^[2]
• (Islay) IPA^(key): /mənə/^[3]

mana

1. not, unless

• This is the negative form of the conjunctions ma (“if”).
• Also used as the negative form of conjunctions nan/nam ("if" in conditional clauses).
• This conjunction is followed by the dependent form of the verb, which distinguishes it from the otherwise very similarly pronounced man (“as, like”).

From a dialectal vulgarism of Ottoman Turkish بهانه (bahane), either in the form of "mahane" or "mana",^[1] from Persian بهانه (bahâne, “excuse”). Related to Macedonian маана (maana), Bulgarian махана (mahana), Albanian mahanë—all borrowed from Ottoman Turkish.

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

mána f (Cyrillic spelling ма́на)

1. flaw, fault, shortcoming

• verbs: manisati

From Latin manna, from Ancient Greek μάννα (mánna), from Hebrew מן (mān, “'manna”).

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

mȁna f (Cyrillic spelling ма̏на)

1. manna

Borrowed from English mana, from Proto-Polynesian *mana, from Proto-Oceanic *mana.

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

mȁna f (Cyrillic spelling ма̏на)

1. mana

• IPA^(key): /ˈmana/ [ˈma.na]
• Rhymes: -ana
• Syllabification: ma‧na

mana f (plural manas)

1. (slang, Mexico) female equivalent of mano

mana

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

mana f (plural manas)

1. manna

mana f (plural manas)

1. spring (of water)

• “mana”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

From Low German manen, from Old Saxon manon, from Proto-Germanic *manōną, cognate with Old English manian (“to remind”).

mana (present manar, preterite manade, supine manat, imperative mana)

1. to encourage or urge (someone)

mana c

1. mana (supernatural power)

• “mana”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “mana”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “mana”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *mana, *maña (“inherit; inheritance”). Compare Malay manah (“heritage”).

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈmana/ [ˈmaː.n̪ɐ]
• Rhymes: -ana
• Syllabification: ma‧na

mana (Baybayin spelling ᜋᜈ)

1. heirloom; inheritance; heritage

• “mana”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018

• Maan, ma- -an

From Proto-Polynesian *mana, from Proto-Oceanic *mana.

mana

1. power
2. respect given in accordance to power

From Proto-Polynesian *mana, from Proto-Oceanic *mana.

• IPA^(key): /ma.na/

mana

1. miracle

mana

1. 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

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish معنا, from Arabic مَعْنًى (maʕnan) (plural: مَعَانٍ (maʕānin)).

• IPA^(key): /maːˈnaː/, /maːˈna/, [mɑːɲäː], (deprecated) [mɑːnɑː]

• Audio:

  (file)

mana (definite accusative manayı, plural manalar)

1. meaning

   Synonym: anlam

2. purpose, point

   bu tartışmanın pek bir manası yok ― this discussion does not really have a point

• “mana”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu
• Ayverdi, İlhan (2010), “mana”, in Misalli Büyük Türkçe Sözlük, a reviewed and expanded single-volume edition, Istanbul: Kubbealtı Neşriyatı
• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–), “mana”, in Nişanyan Sözlük

mana

1. genitive singular of man

From Proto-Central Jê *mə̃nə̃ (“tail, penis”) < Proto-Cerrado *mbyn (“tail, penis”) < Proto-Jê *mbyn (“tail”).

• IPA^(key): [mə̃nə̃]

mana

1. Form of bö (utterance-medial variant)

mana

1. water

• Andrew Pawley, Papuan Pasts: Cultural, Linguistic and Biological Histories of Papuan-Speaking Peoples (2005)