nānā

See also: Appendix:Variations of "nana"

Hawaiian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /naːˈnaː/

Etymology 1

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “from "nanny"?”)

Noun

nānā

1. goat

Etymology 2

From Proto-Polynesian *naa-naa (“to look at something” – compare with Māori nānā, Rarotongan nānā and Tahitian nānā).

Verb

nānā

1. (transitive) to look, observe

   Synonym: kilo

Derived terms

• nānā ao (“forecaster”)
• nānālā (“sunflower”)

Māori

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnaːnaː/ [ˈnɑːnɑː]

Etymology 1

From Proto-Polynesian *naa-naa (“to look at something” – compare with Rarotongan nānā “to raise one's eyes, to look or glance at something” and Tahitian nānā); doublet of nana.

Verb

nānā

1. to tend carefully, to look after

Derived terms

• whakanānā

Etymology 2

Reduplication of nā “satisfied, content” related to ngā “to take a breath, to be satisfied” and ngāngā “to breath heavily”

Verb

nānā (passive nānāhia or nānāia or nānātia)

1. to indulge, pamper

Related terms

• nanā
• nana
• whakanā

Further reading

• Williams, Herbert William (1917), “nānā”, in A Dictionary of the Maori Language, page 253
• John C. Moorfield (2011), “nānā”, in Te Aka: Māori–English, English–Māori Dictionary and Index‎^[2], 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, →ISBN