nana

See also: Appendix:Variations of "nana"

Languages (57)

English

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Abidji • Asturian • Balinese • Bambara • Bikol Central • Catalan • Cebuano • Central Huasteca Nahuatl • Central Mazahua • Champenois • Chavacano • Chickasaw • Darkinjung • Ese • Esperanto • Fijian • French • 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

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Page categories

English

Etymology 1

An aphetic form of banana.

Pronunciation

• enPR: näʹnə, IPA^(key): /ˈnɑːnə/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːnə

Noun

nana (plural nanas)

1. (informal) A banana.
2. (UK, slang) A foolish person.

   You look a right nana dressed up like that.

Alternative forms

• 'nana, narna, narner

Etymology 2

Variant spelling of nanna.

Pronunciation

• enPR: nănʹə, IPA^(key): /ˈnænə/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ænə

Noun

nana (plural nanas) (informal)

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

Anagrams

• A.A.N.N., Anna, anan, anna, naan

Abidji

Noun

nana

1. grandfather

Asturian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnana/, [ˈna.na]

Adjective

nana

1. feminine singular of nanu

Balinese

Romanization

nana

1. Romanization of ᬦᬦ
2. Romanization of ᬦᬦᬵ

Bambara

Verb

nana

1. past of na

Bikol Central

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Noun

nanà (Basahan spelling ᜈᜈ)

1. pus

Derived terms

• magnana
• manana
• mananaan
• nanaan

 

Catalan

Pronunciation

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

Adjective

nana

1. feminine singular of nan

Noun

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

• nana blanca
• nana roja

Cebuano

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Noun

nana

1. (uncountable) pus

Central Huasteca Nahuatl

Noun

nana

1. mother.

Central Mazahua

Noun

nana

1. mother

Champenois

Etymology

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

Noun

nana

1. (Sommepy) bread

References

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

Chavacano

Etymology

From Cebuano nana.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

nanà

1. (Zamboangueño) pus

   Synonym: (Caviteño, Ternateño) materia

Chickasaw

Alternative forms

• nanna

Etymology

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

Pronoun

nana

1. something

Darkinjung

Etymology

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

Pronoun

nana

1. him (3rd person singular accusative)

Ese

Noun

nana

1. war

Esperanto

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

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

Adjective

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

1. dwarf

Fijian

Etymology

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈnana/

Noun

nana

1. pus (fluid found in regions of infection)

French

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /na.na/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

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

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

Anagrams

• Anna

Galician

Etymology

Probably with ultimate origin in baby talk.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnana̝/

Noun

nana f (plural nanas)

1. (archaic) mother; mama

Derived terms

• nai

References

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “nana”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “nana”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: ILG
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “nana”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “nana”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega

Garawa

Etymology

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

Determiner

nana

1. that

   Synonym: nanda

References

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

Hadza

Etymology

naha +‎ -na

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nana/

Adverb

nana

1. there

Hawaiian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈna.na/, [ˈnɐ.nə]

Verb

nana

1. Lānaʻi form of ulana (“to plait”)

Herero

Verb

nana

1. to pull

Ilocano

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Noun

nana

1. pus (fluid found in regions of infection)

Isnag

Etymology

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

Noun

nána

1. pus (fluid found in regions of infection)

Italian

Pronunciation

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

Adjective

nana

1. feminine singular of nano

Noun

nana f (plural nane)

1. female equivalent of nano (“dwarf”)

Anagrams

• Anna, annà

Ivatan

Etymology

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

Noun

nana

1. pus (fluid found in regions of infection)

Japanese

Romanization

nana

1. Rōmaji transcription of なな

Kapampangan

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnanəʔ/ [ˈnäː.nəʔ]

Noun

nánâ

1. (pathology) pus

Kituba

Numeral

nana

1. eight

Krisa

Etymology

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

Pronoun

nana

1. I

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈnaː.na/, [ˈnäːnä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈna.na/, [ˈnäːnä]

Noun

nāna f (genitive nānae); first declension

1. dwarf (female)

Declension

First-declension noun.

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

Related terms

• nānus

References

• “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

Alternative forms

• nanā (Courland)

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *nenä.

Noun

nana

1. nose

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnana/

Noun

nana

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

Malay

Etymology

Borrowed from Tamil அண்ணா (aṇṇā).

Pronunciation

• (Johor-Selangor) IPA^(key): /nanə/
• (Riau-Lingga) IPA^(key): /nana/
• Rhymes: -anə, -nə, -ə

Noun

nana (Jawi spelling نان, plural nana-nana, informal 1st possessive nanaku, 2nd possessive nanamu, 3rd possessive nananya)

1. brother (older male sibling)

See also

• abang
• kakak
• engko
• uda

Mansaka

Noun

nana

1. pus

Maori

Etymology 1

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

Interjection

nana

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

Etymology 2

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

Noun

nana

1. eyebrow

Further reading

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

Marshallese

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Adjective

nana

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

References

• Marshallese–English Online Dictionary

Masbatenyo

Etymology

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

Noun

nanà

1. pus

Michoacán Mazahua

Noun

nana

1. mother

Murui Huitoto

Etymology

Cognates include Minica Huitoto nana and Nüpode Huitoto nana.

Pronunciation

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

Determiner

nana

1. all

Pronoun

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

• Shirley Burtch (1983) Diccionario Huitoto Murui (Tomo I) (Linguistica Peruana No. 20)‎^[4] (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.‎^[5], Townsville: James Cook University press (PhD thesis), page 154

Nias

Etymology

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

Noun

nana (mutated form nana)

1. pus (fluid found in regions of infection)

Northern Paiute

Etymology

Compare Cahuilla náxanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nana/

Noun

nana (plural naana)

1. man

Northern Sami

Adjective

nana

1. attributive of nanus

Oroqen

Noun

nana

1. skin, hide

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɐnɐ

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈnɐ̃.nɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈnɐ̃.nɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈnɐ.na/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈnɐ.nɐ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈnɐ.nɐ/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈna.nɐ/

Etymology 1

Noun

nana f (plural nanas)

1. nap; a quick or little sleep

   Synonyms: soneca, cochilo

Etymology 2

Verb

nana

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

Sambali

Noun

nana

1. aunt

Noun

nanà

1. pus

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology 1

Of expressive/onomatopoetic origin.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

nána f (Cyrillic spelling на́на)

1. mother
2. grandmother

Etymology 2

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

Pronunciation

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

Noun

nána f (Cyrillic spelling на́на)

1. mint

   Synonym: mètvica

References

• “nana”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2024
• “nana”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2024

Simeulue

Etymology

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

Noun

nana

1. pus (fluid found in regions of infection)

Spanish

Etymology 1

Echoic/imitative.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnana/ [ˈna.na]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ana
• Syllabification: na‧na

Noun

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

• tata

Derived terms

• del año de la nana

 

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Quechua nanay (“pain”).

Noun

nana f (plural nanas)

1. (Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, childish) small wound, scratch or painful bump

   Synonyms: pupa, yaya

2. (Argentina, Uruguay, mostly in the plural) pains and aches of old age

   Synonym: achaque

Further reading

• “nana”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Tagalog

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈnanaʔ/ [ˈn̪aː.n̪ɐʔ]
• Rhymes: -anaʔ
• Syllabification: na‧na

Noun

nanà (Baybayin spelling ᜈᜈ)

1. pus; matter

   Synonym: agwasa

Derived terms

• magnana
• manana

 

See also

• naknak

 

Etymology 2

From Philippine Spanish nana (“mommy”).

Pronunciation

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

Noun

nana (Baybayin spelling ᜈᜈ)

1. aunt

   Synonyms: tiya, tita, tiyang, tiyahin, ale, ante, inda

2. (obsolete, Standard Tagalog) mother

   Synonyms: ina, nanay, mama

Coordinate terms

• tata

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /naˈnaʔ/ [n̪ɐˈn̪aʔ]
• Rhymes: -aʔ
• Syllabification: na‧na

Noun

nanâ (Baybayin spelling ᜈᜈ)

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

See also

• na

 

Further reading

• “nana”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
• Noceda, Fr. Juan José de, Sanlucar, Fr. Pedro de (1860) Vocabulario de la lengua tagala, compuesto por varios religiosos doctos y graves‎^[6] (in Spanish), Manila: Ramirez y Giraudier
• San Buena Ventura, Fr. Pedro de (1613) Juan de Silva, editor, Vocabulario de lengua tagala: El romance castellano puesto primero‎^[7], La Noble Villa de Pila
  • page 409: “Materia) Nana (pp) de la llaga [o herida]”
  • page 439: “N) Nana (pc) Vna delas letras del Abeçedario Tagalog. |. Nana yaon .|. ᜈ . Aralan mo aco nang pagſulat nang iniong Nana, enſeñame a eſcriuir bueſtra letra .N.”
  • page 487: “Podre) Nana (pp) q̃ ſale de la herida.”

Tahitian

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [nana]

Interjection

nana

1. bye, goodbye

Toba Batak

Alternative forms

• ᯉᯉ

Etymology

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

Noun

nana (Batak spelling ᯉᯉ)

1. pus (fluid found in regions of infection)

Wanyi

Etymology

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

Determiner

nana

1. that

References

• 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

Noun

nanà

1. pus; abscess

Western Huasteca Nahuatl

Noun

nana

1. mother.

Yogad

Noun

naná

1. pus; abscess