Etymologically
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nana

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 07:41. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • /ˈnɑːnə/[1]

Etymology

According to the OED it probably represents a child's pronunciation of nanny, perhaps after mama;[2] the American Heritage Dictionary and Merriam-Webster call it a word of baby-talk origin,[3][4] and the Oxford Dictionary of English and the Concise Oxford take it as a child's pronunciation of nanny or gran.[5][6] Etymonline describes it as a widespread child's word for a woman other than the mother.[7] Nanny itself is probably from the pet name Nan, for Anne or Agnes.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A children's nurse: about 1844, in a diary of E. Pepys.[2][4][7]

Semantic evolution

The sense "grandmother" is recorded from 1899, in a letter of E. E. Cummings,[2][8] and is now the main one.[3][6] The shorter nan, also for a grandmother, is taken from nana and nanny.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1844 – a children's nurse.[2][4]
  • 1899 – a grandmother.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (informal) One's grandmother.[3][4][6][2]
  2. A children's nurse; a nanny.[3][4][2]

Usage notes

In British English it is also spelled nanna.[6][9] A separate nana, shortened from banana, means a banana (from 1896), a silly person (from 1965) and, in Australian slang, the head, as in to do one's nana, to lose one's temper.[2][9][10]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  9. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins