mana

Definition

Power, prestige; specifically, a form of supernatural energy in Polynesian religion that inheres in things or people.

Etymology

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.

Example Sentences

• "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 […]"
• "The human tribe partakes of the mana or life-force of the animal, and is strengthened […]"
• "But in popular estimation their essential virtue derived from the personal mana of the sovereign."