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an·a¹

(ănə, änə)

n. pl. ana or an·as

1. A collection of various materials that reflect the character of a person or place: definitive ana of the early American West.

2. An item in such a collection.

[From New Latin -āna, as in titles of such collections; see -ANA.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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