Random Image

You are here: Random Image > Words beginning with m > Random Image for maana

Possible definitions for maana

mana
Among Polynesian and Melanesian peoples, a supernatural force or power that may be ascribed to persons, spirits, or inanimate objects. Mana may be either good or evil, beneficial or dangerous, but it is not impersonal; it is never spoken of except in connection with powerful beings or things. The term was first used in the 19th cent. in the West in connection with religion, but mana is now regarded as a symbolic way of expressing the special qualities attributed to persons of status in a hierarchical society, of providing sanction for their actions, and of explaining their failures. See also animism.


Agana
Town (pop., 1990: 1,100), capital of Guam. It lies on Guam's W coast on Agana Bay. A town of 10,000 in 1940, it was completely destroyed in World War II and has come back slowly. Nearby Latte Stone Park features pillars (latte stones) that supported houses of the prehistoric Latte culture.


amanita
Any mushroom of the genus Amanita, containing about 100 species, some of which are poison-ous to humans. Among the deadliest of all mushrooms are the large white destroying angels (A. bispongera, A. ocreata, A. verna, and A. virosa), which are found in forests during wet periods in summer and autumn. The green or brown death cap (A. phalloides), also deadly, is found in woods in summer or early autumn. The poisonous fly agaric (A. muscaria), found in pastures and fields in summer, was once used as a fly poison. Common edible species include A. caesarea, A. rubescens, and A. vaginata.


Anna
Empress of Russia (1730-40). After the death of Peter II, the Supreme Privy Council, Russia's actual ruling body, offered Anna the throne (as the daughter of Ivan V) if she agreed to conditions placing the real power in the council's hands. She initially agreed but later tore up the conditions, abolished the council, and reestablished the autocracy, countenancing a severely repressive regime. She occupied herself primarily with extravagant amusements and relied on her lover, Ernst Johann Biron (1690-1772), and a group of German advisers to manage the state. Shortly before her death, Anna named as her successor her grand-nephew Ivan (later Ivan VI).


Banna
Egyptian political and religious leader. He began teaching Arabic at a primary school in Ismailia in 1927. In 1928 he established the Muslim Brotherhood, which aimed at rejuvenating Islam and Egyptian society and expelling the British from Egypt. By 1940 it was attracting students, civil servants, and urban laborers to its ranks. He tried to maintain an alliance with the Egyptian government, but many members saw the government as betraying Egyptian nationalism, and after the war, members were implicated in several political assassinations, incl. that of Prime Minister al-Nuqrashi in 1948. Hasan al-Banna was assassinated with government involvement the next year.


Barnard
S. African surgeon. He showed ...

Top words beginning with M: metathetical, margaritomancy, montessorian, metempsychoses, malleableized, modigliani, marquisal, menominee, metovom, myrothamnaceae, mytilacea, mungs, mummies, miliaceous, miscoloured, minizide, megalactractus, macrotome, meg, maneuver

More words beginning with M.

Browse the alphabet: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z