Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The Mesopotamian god of the full moon.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The wife of Balder.
  • noun (Sumerian mythology) The god of the moon; counterpart of the Akkadian Sin.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun The god of the moon in Sumerian mythology.
  • proper noun Norse mythology A goddess, the wife of Balder.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the mother of your father or mother
  • noun god of the Moon; counterpart of the Akkadian Sin
  • noun (Norse mythology) wife of Balder

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Sumerian nannar, nanna, from Akkadian nannāru, luminary; see nwr in Semitic roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Of uncertain origin, possibly from Proto-Germanic *nanþ- (“brave,daring”); or from an Old Norse baby talk word for "mother".

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Examples

  • On the smooth greensward, which they called Nanna's carpet, beneath the shade of ash-trees and elms, he who played Old

    The Story of Siegfried James Baldwin 1883

  • Lillian calls her Nanna Weenie and we talk about her and look at photos.

    2010 June « Mad Dave and Lil 2010

  • She was sitting in the same chair beside the cradle in which she had sat in the morning, for she had called Nanna to move the box at a time when the child had been taken out for its second airing.

    Casa Braccio, Volumes 1 and 2 (of 2) J. Andr�� [Illustrator] Castaigne 1881

  • The wearer of the coat, who was the young man who had carried the knapsack and had called Nanna his little naiad, a term which he supposed she did not understand, cast himself upon the grass near the trunk of the tree.

    The Home in the Valley Emilie Flygare-Carle��n 1849

  • So it isn't clear why he walked into their bedroom a few weeks later, flipped on the lights and shot his grandfather -- whom he grew up calling "Pop-pop" -- through the mouth and his grandmother ( "Nanna") through the back of the head.

    Pardoning Pittman 2008

  • "Nanna" is the daughter of Gewar, and Balder sees her bathing and falls in love with her, as madly as Frey with Gertha in Skirnismal.

    The Danish History, Books I-IX Grammaticus Saxo

  • "Daddy, we tried to call Nanna on the car phone, but we got some man named 'Putin'.

    grouse Diary Entry grouse 2009

  • Fact is, a few cheeky nicknames aside, '' Nanna '' Nixon - aka '' Mrs Doubtfire '' - was not a victim of gender bias, more likely a beneficiary of it.

    The Age News Headlines 2010

  • Fans from all over the world have fallen in love with these stories and wait patiently as wonderful people such as Nanna and the Eskimo Kiss Project girls subtitle these clips and upload them for all of us to see.

    AfterElton.com - Because visibility matters snicks 2010

  • Savona also includes several family recipes from Malta, such as Nanna's rice salad, which I'm anxious to try.

    BellaOnline - The Voice of Women 2009

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