"mana" meaning in English

See mana in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˈmɑː.nə/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˈmæ-/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˈmɑ.nə/ [General-American], /ˈmæ-/ [General-American], /ˈmʌ.nʌ/ [New-Zealand], /ˈma-/ [New-Zealand] Audio: En-us-mana.ogg Forms: manas [plural]
Rhymes: -ɑːnə Etymology: Borrowed from Maori mana, ultimately from Proto-Polynesian *mana, from Proto-Oceanic *mana. The use of "mana" for "magical energy" in video 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. Etymology templates: {{bor+|en|mi|mana}} Borrowed from Maori mana, {{der|en|poz-pol-pro|*mana}} Proto-Polynesian *mana, {{der|en|poz-oce-pro|*mana}} Proto-Oceanic *mana Head templates: {{en-noun|-|s}} mana (usually uncountable, plural manas)
  1. Power, prestige; specifically, a form of supernatural energy in Polynesian religion that inheres in things or people. Tags: uncountable, usually
    Sense id: en-mana-en-noun-d22fiYd~ Categories (other): Terms with Japanese translations Disambiguation of Terms with Japanese translations: 50 50
  2. (fantasy roleplaying games) Magical energy. Tags: uncountable, usually Translations (Translations): 吗那 (Chinese Mandarin), 魔力 (mólì) (Chinese Mandarin), 超自然力量 (Chinese Mandarin), 魔力 (maryoku) (Japanese), マナ (mana) (Japanese), mana [feminine] (Polish), maná [masculine] (Spanish), mana [common-gender] (Swedish)
    Sense id: en-mana-en-noun-OmfSsMgS Categories (other): Fantasy, Role-playing games, English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Terms with Japanese translations, Terms with Mandarin translations, Terms with Polish translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Swedish translations, Dungeons & Dragons Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 31 53 6 11 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 32 68 Disambiguation of Terms with Japanese translations: 50 50 Disambiguation of Terms with Mandarin translations: 33 67 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 34 66 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 27 73 Disambiguation of Terms with Swedish translations: 41 59 Disambiguation of Dungeons & Dragons: 21 64 8 8 Disambiguation of 'Translations': 35 65
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: mana flood, mana glut, manaism, mana point, mana screw, mana shuffle, mana weave
Etymology number: 1

Noun

IPA: /ˈmɑː.nə/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˈmæ-/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˈmɑ.nə/ [General-American], /ˈmæ-/ [General-American], /ˈmʌ.nʌ/ [New-Zealand], /ˈma-/ [New-Zealand] Audio: En-us-mana.ogg Forms: manas [plural]
Rhymes: -ɑːnə Head templates: {{en-noun}} mana (plural manas)
  1. Alternative form of mina (“ancient unit of weight or currency”). Tags: alt-of, alternative Alternative form of: mina (extra: ancient unit of weight or currency)
    Sense id: en-mana-en-noun-PkiLsKdl
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 2

Noun

IPA: /ˈmɑː.nə/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˈmæ-/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˈmɑ.nə/ [General-American], /ˈmæ-/ [General-American], /ˈmʌ.nʌ/ [New-Zealand], /ˈma-/ [New-Zealand] Audio: En-us-mana.ogg
Rhymes: -ɑːnə Head templates: {{en-noun|-}} mana (uncountable)
  1. Alternative spelling of manna. Tags: alt-of, alternative, uncountable Alternative form of: manna
    Sense id: en-mana-en-noun-i7b8Yz9Q
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 3

Inflected forms

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "mana flood"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "mana glut"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "manaism"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "mana point"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "mana screw"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "mana shuffle"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "mana weave"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "mi",
        "3": "mana"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Maori mana",
      "name": "bor+"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "poz-pol-pro",
        "3": "*mana"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Polynesian *mana",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "poz-oce-pro",
        "3": "*mana"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Oceanic *mana",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Borrowed from Maori mana, ultimately from Proto-Polynesian *mana, from Proto-Oceanic *mana.\nThe use of \"mana\" for \"magical energy\" in video 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.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "manas",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-",
        "2": "s"
      },
      "expansion": "mana (usually uncountable, plural manas)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenations": [
    {
      "parts": [
        "ma",
        "na"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "50 50",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Japanese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              238,
              242
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "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:",
          "text": "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 […]",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              32,
              36
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1920, Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., page 61:",
          "text": "The human tribe partakes of the mana or life-force of the animal, and is strengthened […]",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, OCLC 71368859; republished London: Folio Society, 2012, OCLC 805007047, page 193",
          "text": "But in popular estimation their essential virtue derived from the personal mana of the sovereign."
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              32,
              36
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "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:",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              46,
              50
            ],
            [
              108,
              113
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "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:",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              112,
              116
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "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:",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Power, prestige; specifically, a form of supernatural energy in Polynesian religion that inheres in things or people."
      ],
      "id": "en-mana-en-noun-d22fiYd~",
      "links": [
        [
          "Power",
          "power#English"
        ],
        [
          "prestige",
          "prestige"
        ],
        [
          "supernatural",
          "supernatural"
        ],
        [
          "energy",
          "energy"
        ],
        [
          "Polynesian",
          "Polynesian"
        ],
        [
          "religion",
          "religion"
        ],
        [
          "inhere",
          "inhere"
        ],
        [
          "thing",
          "thing"
        ],
        [
          "people",
          "people"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable",
        "usually"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Fantasy",
          "orig": "en:Fantasy",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Role-playing games",
          "orig": "en:Role-playing games",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "31 53 6 11",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "32 68",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "50 50",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Japanese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "33 67",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Mandarin translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "34 66",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Polish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "27 73",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "41 59",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "21 64 8 8",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Dungeons & Dragons",
          "orig": "en:Dungeons & Dragons",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              0,
              4
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1969 April, Larry Niven, “Not Long Before the End”, in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction:",
          "text": "Mana is the name we give to the power behind magic.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              54,
              58
            ],
            [
              109,
              113
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1977, David Hargrave, “Magik, What It Is and What It Does” (chapter VII), in The Arduin Grimoire:",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              15,
              19
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1993, Richard Garfield, “Overview of Play”, in Magic: The Gathering: A Fantasy Trading Card Game [rulebook], Limited Edition Alpha edition, Wizards of the Coast, archived from the original on 08 Mar 2013, page 9:",
          "text": "Lands generate mana, which is required to cast spells.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              104,
              108
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2003 May 20, \"Bear\", “Makes Lovely Julienne Ogres …”, in rec.games.roguelike.angband (Usenet), message-ID <3EC9C629.4DF117C@sonic.net>:",
          "text": "[…] 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!",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              0,
              4
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2010, Ernest Adams, “Artifical Life and Puzzle Games”, in Fundamentals of Game Design, 2nd edition, Berkeley, Calif.: New Riders, →ISBN, page 580:",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              26,
              30
            ],
            [
              88,
              92
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2023 December 1, Evelynn Kersting, “Games and Time”, in University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, page 226, archived from the original on 06 Jun 2025:",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Magical energy."
      ],
      "id": "en-mana-en-noun-OmfSsMgS",
      "links": [
        [
          "fantasy",
          "fantasy"
        ],
        [
          "roleplaying game",
          "roleplaying game"
        ],
        [
          "Magical",
          "magical#English"
        ],
        [
          "energy",
          "energy"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "fantasy roleplaying games",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(fantasy roleplaying games) Magical energy."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable",
        "usually"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "35 65",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "word": "吗那"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "35 65",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "mólì",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "word": "魔力"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "35 65",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "word": "超自然力量"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "35 65",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "maryoku",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "word": "魔力"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "35 65",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "mana",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "word": "マナ"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "35 65",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "mana"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "35 65",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "maná"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "35 65",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "mana"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmɑː.nə/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmæ-/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmɑ.nə/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmæ-/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmʌ.nʌ/",
      "tags": [
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈma-/",
      "tags": [
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-us-mana.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/db/En-us-mana.ogg/En-us-mana.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/En-us-mana.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɑːnə"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Battle of Chunuk Bair",
    "Larry Niven",
    "New Zealand Defence Force",
    "Not Long Before the End",
    "Royal New Zealand Navy",
    "The Magic Goes Away"
  ],
  "word": "mana"
}

{
  "etymology_number": 2,
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "manas",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "mana (plural manas)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenations": [
    {
      "parts": [
        "ma",
        "na"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "extra": "ancient unit of weight or currency",
          "word": "mina"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of mina (“ancient unit of weight or currency”)."
      ],
      "id": "en-mana-en-noun-PkiLsKdl",
      "links": [
        [
          "mina",
          "mina#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmɑː.nə/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmæ-/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmɑ.nə/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmæ-/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmʌ.nʌ/",
      "tags": [
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈma-/",
      "tags": [
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-us-mana.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/db/En-us-mana.ogg/En-us-mana.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/En-us-mana.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɑːnə"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Battle of Chunuk Bair",
    "New Zealand Defence Force",
    "Royal New Zealand Navy"
  ],
  "word": "mana"
}

{
  "etymology_number": 3,
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "mana (uncountable)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenations": [
    {
      "parts": [
        "ma",
        "na"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "manna"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative spelling of manna."
      ],
      "id": "en-mana-en-noun-i7b8Yz9Q",
      "links": [
        [
          "manna",
          "manna#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmɑː.nə/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmæ-/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmɑ.nə/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmæ-/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmʌ.nʌ/",
      "tags": [
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈma-/",
      "tags": [
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-us-mana.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/db/En-us-mana.ogg/En-us-mana.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/En-us-mana.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɑːnə"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Battle of Chunuk Bair",
    "New Zealand Defence Force",
    "Royal New Zealand Navy"
  ],
  "word": "mana"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms borrowed from Maori",
    "English terms derived from Maori",
    "English terms derived from Proto-Oceanic",
    "English terms derived from Proto-Polynesian",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 51 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/ɑːnə",
    "Rhymes:English/ɑːnə/2 syllables",
    "Terms with Japanese translations",
    "Terms with Mandarin translations",
    "Terms with Polish translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Swedish translations",
    "Translation table header lacks gloss",
    "en:Dungeons & Dragons"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "mana flood"
    },
    {
      "word": "mana glut"
    },
    {
      "word": "manaism"
    },
    {
      "word": "mana point"
    },
    {
      "word": "mana screw"
    },
    {
      "word": "mana shuffle"
    },
    {
      "word": "mana weave"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "mi",
        "3": "mana"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Maori mana",
      "name": "bor+"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "poz-pol-pro",
        "3": "*mana"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Polynesian *mana",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "poz-oce-pro",
        "3": "*mana"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Oceanic *mana",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Borrowed from Maori mana, ultimately from Proto-Polynesian *mana, from Proto-Oceanic *mana.\nThe use of \"mana\" for \"magical energy\" in video 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.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "manas",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-",
        "2": "s"
      },
      "expansion": "mana (usually uncountable, plural manas)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenations": [
    {
      "parts": [
        "ma",
        "na"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              238,
              242
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "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:",
          "text": "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 […]",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              32,
              36
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1920, Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., page 61:",
          "text": "The human tribe partakes of the mana or life-force of the animal, and is strengthened […]",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, OCLC 71368859; republished London: Folio Society, 2012, OCLC 805007047, page 193",
          "text": "But in popular estimation their essential virtue derived from the personal mana of the sovereign."
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              32,
              36
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "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:",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              46,
              50
            ],
            [
              108,
              113
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "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:",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              112,
              116
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "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:",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Power, prestige; specifically, a form of supernatural energy in Polynesian religion that inheres in things or people."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Power",
          "power#English"
        ],
        [
          "prestige",
          "prestige"
        ],
        [
          "supernatural",
          "supernatural"
        ],
        [
          "energy",
          "energy"
        ],
        [
          "Polynesian",
          "Polynesian"
        ],
        [
          "religion",
          "religion"
        ],
        [
          "inhere",
          "inhere"
        ],
        [
          "thing",
          "thing"
        ],
        [
          "people",
          "people"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable",
        "usually"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "en:Fantasy",
        "en:Role-playing games"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              0,
              4
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1969 April, Larry Niven, “Not Long Before the End”, in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction:",
          "text": "Mana is the name we give to the power behind magic.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              54,
              58
            ],
            [
              109,
              113
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1977, David Hargrave, “Magik, What It Is and What It Does” (chapter VII), in The Arduin Grimoire:",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              15,
              19
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1993, Richard Garfield, “Overview of Play”, in Magic: The Gathering: A Fantasy Trading Card Game [rulebook], Limited Edition Alpha edition, Wizards of the Coast, archived from the original on 08 Mar 2013, page 9:",
          "text": "Lands generate mana, which is required to cast spells.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              104,
              108
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2003 May 20, \"Bear\", “Makes Lovely Julienne Ogres …”, in rec.games.roguelike.angband (Usenet), message-ID <3EC9C629.4DF117C@sonic.net>:",
          "text": "[…] 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!",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              0,
              4
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2010, Ernest Adams, “Artifical Life and Puzzle Games”, in Fundamentals of Game Design, 2nd edition, Berkeley, Calif.: New Riders, →ISBN, page 580:",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              26,
              30
            ],
            [
              88,
              92
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2023 December 1, Evelynn Kersting, “Games and Time”, in University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, page 226, archived from the original on 06 Jun 2025:",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Magical energy."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "fantasy",
          "fantasy"
        ],
        [
          "roleplaying game",
          "roleplaying game"
        ],
        [
          "Magical",
          "magical#English"
        ],
        [
          "energy",
          "energy"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "fantasy roleplaying games",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(fantasy roleplaying games) Magical energy."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable",
        "usually"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmɑː.nə/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmæ-/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmɑ.nə/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmæ-/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmʌ.nʌ/",
      "tags": [
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈma-/",
      "tags": [
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-us-mana.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/db/En-us-mana.ogg/En-us-mana.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/En-us-mana.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɑːnə"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "word": "吗那"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "mólì",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "word": "魔力"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "word": "超自然力量"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "maryoku",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "word": "魔力"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "mana",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "word": "マナ"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "mana"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "maná"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "mana"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Battle of Chunuk Bair",
    "Larry Niven",
    "New Zealand Defence Force",
    "Not Long Before the End",
    "Royal New Zealand Navy",
    "The Magic Goes Away"
  ],
  "word": "mana"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "Pages with 51 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/ɑːnə",
    "Rhymes:English/ɑːnə/2 syllables",
    "en:Dungeons & Dragons"
  ],
  "etymology_number": 2,
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "manas",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "mana (plural manas)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenations": [
    {
      "parts": [
        "ma",
        "na"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "extra": "ancient unit of weight or currency",
          "word": "mina"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of mina (“ancient unit of weight or currency”)."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "mina",
          "mina#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmɑː.nə/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmæ-/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmɑ.nə/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmæ-/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmʌ.nʌ/",
      "tags": [
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈma-/",
      "tags": [
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-us-mana.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/db/En-us-mana.ogg/En-us-mana.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/En-us-mana.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɑːnə"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Battle of Chunuk Bair",
    "New Zealand Defence Force",
    "Royal New Zealand Navy"
  ],
  "word": "mana"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "Pages with 51 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/ɑːnə",
    "Rhymes:English/ɑːnə/2 syllables",
    "en:Dungeons & Dragons"
  ],
  "etymology_number": 3,
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "mana (uncountable)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenations": [
    {
      "parts": [
        "ma",
        "na"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "manna"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative spelling of manna."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "manna",
          "manna#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmɑː.nə/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmæ-/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmɑ.nə/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmæ-/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmʌ.nʌ/",
      "tags": [
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈma-/",
      "tags": [
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-us-mana.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/db/En-us-mana.ogg/En-us-mana.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/En-us-mana.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɑːnə"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Battle of Chunuk Bair",
    "New Zealand Defence Force",
    "Royal New Zealand Navy"
  ],
  "word": "mana"
}

Download raw JSONL data for mana meaning in English (11.6kB)

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-08-04 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-08-02 using wiktextract (a681f8a and 3c020d2). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.