mena

See also: Appendix:Variations of "mena"

Asturian

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *meinis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmena/ [ˈme.na]
• Rhymes: -ena
• Syllabification: me‧na

Noun

mena f (plural menes)

1. kind, type, sort, manner, category

   Synonyms: tipu, climen

   • 1876-1895(?), Teodoro Cuesta, Cuentu de xunt'al fueu‎^[3]:

     Una vos cuntaré de bona mena

     I'll tell you one (a story) of good kind

   • 1925, Enrique García Rendueles, La Rueca‎^[4]:

     Un cerru de bona mena

     A hill of good kind

2. lineage, origin
   • 1634-1662(?), Antón de Marirreguera, Hero y Lleandro‎^[5]:

     Home de bon calter y bona mena ,

     Man of good character and good lineage

   • 1891, Teodoro Cuesta, Glorias de Asturias:

     Pedro José Pidal, de bona mena,

     Pedro José Pidal, of good lineage

Further reading

• “mena”, in Diccionariu de la llingua asturiana [Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (in Asturian), 1ª edición, Academia de la Llingua Asturiana, 2000, →ISBN
• Xosé Lluis García Arias (2002–2004), “mena”, in Diccionario general de la lengua asturiana [General Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (in Spanish), Editorial Prensa Asturiana, →ISBN

Catalan

Etymology 1

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *mīna, *mēna, from Gaulish *meina (“mineral, ore”). Doublet of mina (“mine”). First attested in 1185.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈmɛ.nə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˈmə.nə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈme.na]

Noun

mena f (plural menes)

1. (mineralogy) ore
2. sort, kind, type

   Synonyms: classe, espècie, tipus

3. (nautical) strand (of a rope)
4. (nautical) thickness, size (especially of a rope)

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˈmɛ.nə]

Noun

mena f (plural menes)

1. (colloquial, Balearic) lie, falsehood

Noun

mena m or f by sense (plural menes)

1. (colloquial, Balearic) liar

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈmɛ.nə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˈmə.nə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈme.na]

Verb

mena

1. inflection of menar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “mena”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “mena”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “mena” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “mena” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

French

Verb

mena

1. third-person singular past historic of mener

Anagrams

• amen

Gothic

Romanization

mēna

1. romanization of 𐌼𐌴𐌽𐌰

Hausa

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /méː.nàː/
  • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA^(key): [méː.nàː]

Noun

mēnā̀ f (possessed form mēnàr̃)

1. dama gazelle

Italian

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈme.na/, /ˈmɛ.na/
• Rhymes: -ena, -ɛna
• Hyphenation: mé‧na, mè‧na

Noun

mena f (plural mene)

1. plot, conspiracy

   Synonyms: complotto, trama, intrigo, macchinazione

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈme.na/
• Rhymes: -ena
• Hyphenation: mé‧na

Verb

mena

1. inflection of menare:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Anagrams

• -mane, amen

Kikuyu

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɛna/

Verb

mena (infinitive kũmena)

1. to dislike, to despise

Antonyms

• kwenda

Derived terms

(Nouns)

• mũmeni class 1

(Proverbs)

• mũmenwo arutagwo mbakĩ iniũrũ

Related terms

(Nouns)

• rũmena class 11

See also

• gũthũũra

References

• Armstrong, Lilias E. (1940). The Phonetic and Tonal Structure of Kikuyu, p. 362. Rep. 1967. (Also in 2018 by Routledge).

Kituba

Verb

mena

1. to grow (as plants do)

Lithuanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈmʲæ̌ːn̪ɐ]

Verb

mẽna

1. third-person singular present of miñti
2. third-person plural present of miñti

Malagasy

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

mena

1. red
2. (dialectal, Bara, figuratively) angry

See also

Colors in Malagasy · volo (layout · text)

fotsy	volombatolalaka ; vatolalaka	mainty ; ngaly
mena ; horàka; menapina ; jaky ; dorehitra	haboka ; heza; fiana ; manja ; lañary	vony ; hasaka
	maitso
		manga
volomparasy ; katso ; lalena; angana	volomparasy ; katso ; lalena	mavokely

Murui Huitoto

Murui Huitoto numbers ^(edit)

←  1	2	3  →
Cardinal: mena     Adverbial: menakaño

Etymology

Cognates include Minica Huitoto mena and Nüpode Huitoto mena.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈmɛna]
• Hyphenation: me‧na

Numeral

mena

1. two

Derived terms

• menakaño

References

• Shirley Burtch (1983), Diccionario Huitoto Murui (Tomo I) (Linguistica Peruana No. 20)‎^[6] (in Spanish), Yarinacocha, Peru: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, page 176
• Katarzyna Izabela Wojtylak (2017), A grammar of Murui (Bue): a Witotoan language of Northwest Amazonia.‎^[7], Townsville: James Cook University press (PhD thesis), page 148

Nheengatu

Etymology

Inherited from Old Tupi mena, from Proto-Tupian *men.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmẽ.na/
• Rhymes: -ẽna
• Hyphenation: me‧na

Noun

mena (plural mena-itá)

1. husband (male partner in marriage)

   Coordinate term: imirikú (“wife”)

Occitan

Pronunciation

• Audio (Languedoc):

  (file)

Noun

mena f (plural menas)

1. type, sort, kind

   Synonyms: sòrta, espècia

2. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Further reading

• Joan de Cantalausa (2006), Diccionari general occitan a partir dels parlars lengadocians‎^[8], 2nd edition, →ISBN, page 638

Old Swedish

Verb

mena

1. to mean

Conjugation

Conjugation of mēna (weak)

	present				past
infinitive	mēna				—
participle	mēnandi, mēnande				mēnder
active voice	indicative	subjunctive	imperative		indicative	subjunctive
iæk	mēnir	mēni, mēne	—		mēndi, mēnde	mēndi, mēnde
þū	mēnir	mēni, mēne	mēn		mēndi, mēnde	mēndi, mēnde
han	mēnir	mēni, mēne	—		mēndi, mēnde	mēndi, mēnde
vīr	mēnum, mēnom	mēnum, mēnom	mēnum, mēnom		mēndum, mēndom	mēndum, mēndom
īr	mēnin	mēnin	mēnin		mēndin	mēndin
þēr	mēna	mēnin	—		mēndu, mēndo	mēndin
mediopassive voice	indicative	subjunctive	imperative		indicative	subjunctive
iæk	mēnis	mēnis, mēnes	—		mēndis, mēndes	mēndis, mēndes
þū	mēnis	mēnis, mēnes	—		mēndis, mēndes	mēndis, mēndes
han	mēnis	mēnis, mēnes	—		mēndis, mēndes	mēndis, mēndes
vīr	mēnums, mēnoms	mēnums, mēnoms	—		mēndums, mēndoms	mēndums, mēndoms
īr	mēnins	mēnins	—		mēndins	mēndins
þēr	mēnas	mēnins	—		mēndus, mēndos	mēndins

Verb

mēna

2. (transitive with accusative) to harm
3. to hinder, prevent
4. to forbid, prohibit

Conjugation

Conjugation of mēna (weak)

	present				past
infinitive	mēna				—
participle	mēnandi, -e				mēnaþer
active voice	indicative	subjunctive	imperative		indicative	subjunctive
iæk	mēnar	mēni, -e	—		mēnaþi, -e	mēnaþi, -e
þū	mēnar	mēni, -e	mēna		mēnaþi, -e	mēnaþi, -e
han	mēnar	mēni, -e	—		mēnaþi, -e	mēnaþi, -e
vīr	mēnum, -om	mēnum, -om	mēnum, -om		mēnaþum, -om	mēnaþum, -om
īr	mēnin	mēnin	mēnin		mēnaþin	mēnaþin
þēr	mēna	mēnin	—		mēnaþu, -o	mēnaþin
mediopassive voice	indicative	subjunctive	imperative		indicative	subjunctive
iæk	mēnas	mēnis, -es	—		mēnaþis, -es	mēnaþis, -es
þū	mēnas	mēnis, -es	—		mēnaþis, -es	mēnaþis, -es
han	mēnas	mēnis, -es	—		mēnaþis, -es	mēnaþis, -es
vīr	mēnums, -oms	mēnums, -oms	—		mēnaþums, -oms	mēnaþums, -oms
īr	mēnins	mēnins	—		mēnaþins	mēnaþins
þēr	mēnas	mēnins	—		mēnaþus, -os	mēnaþins

Old Tupi

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Tupi-Guarani *men, from Proto-Tupian *men.

Cognate with Paraguayan Guarani ména.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɛ̃.na/
• Rhymes: -ɛ̃na
• Hyphenation: me‧na

Noun

mena (possessable)

1. husband (male partner in marriage)

   Coordinate term: emirekó (“wife”)

Related terms

• aîymena
• membyra
• menduba
• mendy
• mendûera
• mene'yma
• mene'õ
• menybyra
• menyky'yra
• pyky'ymena
• symena
• uke'imena
• ykemena
• îetipemena

Descendants

• Nheengatu: mena

Further reading

• Navarro, Eduardo de Almeida (2013), “mena”, in Dicionário de tupi antigo: a língua indígena clássica do Brasil [Dictionary of Old Tupi: The Classical Indigenous Language of Brazil ] (overall work in Portuguese), São Paulo: Global, →ISBN, page 277, column 1

Serbo-Croatian

Alternative forms

• mijéna (Ijekavian)

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *měna.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /měːna/
• Hyphenation: me‧na

Noun

ména f (Cyrillic spelling ме́на) (Ekavian)

1. change

   Synonyms: prȍmena, ȉzmena

2. phase
3. lunation

Declension

Declension of mena

	singular	plural
nominative	ména	mene
genitive	mene	mȇnā
dative	meni	menama
accusative	menu	mene
vocative	meno	mene
locative	meni	menama
instrumental	menom	menama

References

• “mena”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2026

Slovak

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mena/, [ˈmena]
• Rhymes: -ena
• Hyphenation: me‧na

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *měna (“change, exchange”).

Noun

mena f (relational adjective menový)

1. (finance) currency

Declension

Declension of mena
(pattern žena)

	singular	plural
nominative	mena	meny
genitive	meny	mien
dative	mene	menám
accusative	menu	meny
locative	mene	menách
instrumental	menou	menami

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

mena n

1. genitive singular of meno

Further reading

• “mena”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2026

Sotho

Verb

mena

1. to fold

   Synonym: phutha

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmena/ [ˈme.na]
• Rhymes: -ena
• Syllabification: me‧na

Etymology 1

Noun

mena f (plural menas)

1. ore

Etymology 2

Noun

mena m or f by sense (plural menas)

1. alternative letter-case form of MENA

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

mena

1. inflection of menar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “mena”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish mena, from Middle Low German mēnen, meinen (compare Icelandic meina, Danish mene), from Old Saxon mēnian, from Proto-Germanic *mainijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *mein-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [²meːna]

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

mena (present menar, preterite menade, supine menat, imperative mena)

1. to mean; to convey, or to want to convey
2. to mean; to be of the opinion that or to have as one's conviction
3. to mean; to have as one's intention

Conjugation

Conjugation of mena (weak)

	active		passive
infinitive	mena		menas
supine	menat		menats
imperative	mena		—
imper. plural1	menen		—
	present	past	present	past
indicative	menar	menade	menas	menades
ind. plural1	mena	menade	menas	menades
subjunctive2	mene	menade	menes	menades
present participle		menande
past participle		menad

¹ Archaic. ² Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

Related terms

• mening

Yao

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *màjínà.

Noun

mena class 6

1. plural of lina