noun
Common
ana
AH-nuh
Ana (noun) means a gathered set of items linked to a particular person or place, often a collection of stories or table talk about them. Example: “The librarian showed us an ana of the poet's letters and table talk.”
noun
1
A gathered set of items linked to a particular person or place, often a collection of stories or table talk about them.
"The librarian showed us an ana of the poet's letters and table talk."
"She compiled an ana of anecdotes about the village and its famous residents."
"Visitors enjoyed reading the ana collected about the old inn and its regulars."
"The FRENCH ANAS, or Selections from the best of the French Anas, interspersed with biographical sketches. In three elegant Volumes, small 8vo. price 15s. boards"
— publisher's advertisement in Memoirs of the Late Mrs. Robinson (1803)
"Jefferson was aware of the literary tradition of anas, which extended back at least as far as Athenaeus's Dipnosophistarum, a delightful collection of table talk from ancient times covering a variety of subjects including law, literature, medicine, and philosophy."
— Kevin J. Hayes (2008)
2
(informal) Short for anorexia.
3
A person who belongs to the Ana people.
adv
1
Used to mean an equal amount of each thing mentioned.
"The old recipe said to mix the flour and sugar ana."
"The pharmacist weighed the two herbs ana, five grams of each."
"Add salt and pepper ana, then stir the sauce gently."
2
Pointing in a direction like ‘up’, but along the extra axis that the fourth dimension adds.
"Your right half would move ana, let us say, and your left half would move kata. The two halves would, in their parallel spaces, move past the plane of rotation, and then they would swing back into our space."
— Rudy von Bitter Rucker (1985)
"Added to the conventional FPS control keys are two extra keys that move the player in ana and kata direction in 4d space. If you go in this extra direction the space around you changes, the room transforms."
— Animation journal (2005)
name
1
A female given name, equivalent to English Anna or Hannah.
2
A river in Oregon, United States.
3
The name of an ethnic group within the Yoruba people, found mainly in Benin and Togo, West Africa.
4
The name of a Niger-Congo language spoken by the Ana people.
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Word forms
- Plural
- anas
- Comparative
- more ana
- Superlative
- most ana
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The librarian showed us an _____ of the poet's letters and table talk.
Etymology
Formed from the Latin suffix -ana; compare ism (from -ism), itis (from -itis) and phobia (from -phobia).
Synonyms
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Related words
Rhymes for ana
See all rhymes for ana →Frequently asked questions
What does “ana” mean?
The word “ana” means a collection of things associated with a person or place, especially a personal collection of anecdotes or conversations at table.
How do you pronounce “ana”?
“Ana” is pronounced AH-nuh (/ˈæ.nə/ in IPA).
How do you use “ana” in a sentence?
Here is “ana” used in a sentence: “The FRENCH ANAS, or Selections from the best of the French Anas, interspersed with biographical sketches. In three elegant Volumes, small 8vo. price 15s. boards.”
What part of speech is “ana”?
Depending on how it is used, “ana” can be a noun, an adverb and a name.
Where does the word “ana” come from?
The word “ana” comes from Latin. Formed from the Latin suffix -ana; compare ism (from -ism), itis (from -itis), phobia (from -phobia).
Is “ana” a common word?
“Ana” is a fairly common word in modern English.
How many meanings does “ana” have?
“Ana” has 9 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a collection of things associated with a person or place, especially a personal collection of anecdotes or conversations at table.
What is the difference between 'ana' and 'kata' in four-dimensional geometry?
In discussions of four-dimensional space, ana and kata name the two directions along the fourth axis, by analogy with up and down in three dimensions. Ana corresponds to up and kata to down along this extra dimension.
How is 'ana' used in old medical prescriptions?
As an adverb meaning of each or an equal quantity, ana (often abbreviated aa) historically appeared in medical and pharmaceutical recipes to indicate the same amount of each listed ingredient. It is now rare outside old prescriptions.
How is the noun 'ana' related to the suffix '-ana'?
The noun ana, meaning a collection of memorable sayings or anecdotes about a person, is related to the suffix -ana, as in Americana or Shakespeareana, which labels collections of material associated with a subject. Both describe assembled miscellany connected to a person or place.
Is 'ana' an accepted term for anorexia?
Ana is an informal, sometimes slang shortening of anorexia used mainly in online contexts, not a clinical term. In formal or medical writing, anorexia or anorexia nervosa is standard and should be used instead.
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