What does ana mean?
'Ana' is one of those small Latin survivals that modern English keeps alive almost invisibly. As an adverb it means 'apiece' or 'for each', signalling that a stated quantity applies separately to every item in a list — so a formula calling for two ingredients 'ana ten grains' requires ten grains of each. This usage belongs chiefly to the language of old prescriptions, recipes, and commercial price lists, which is why most readers meet it only in historical or specialist texts. Separately, 'ana' functions as a noun denoting a collection of anecdotes, sayings, or table-talk associated with a notable figure, typically appearing with a proper name as in 'the Boswell ana'; its plural is 'anas'. Both senses trace back to Latin 'ana' and ultimately to the Greek distributive phrase 'kat' ana', meaning 'according to each'. Though archaic in daily speech, the word retains genuine currency in bibliographic scholarship and the editing of literary memoirs, making it a useful term to recognise when reading older documents.
Apiece; for each — used to indicate that a specified quantity applies individually to each item named, especially in prescriptions, recipes, and price lists.
"Mix the powders well, and give the patient rhubarb and ginger, ana five grains."
Now chiefly historical or technical; found mainly in pre-modern medical and culinary texts.
A collection of memorable sayings, anecdotes, or table-talk relating to a particular person; usually combined with a name, as 'the Coleridge ana'. Plural: anas.
"The newly published Austen ana gathered every recorded remark about her conversation."
A scholarly and bibliographic usage; often appears in titles of anecdote collections.
The plural applies only to the noun sense (collections of anecdotes); the adverbial sense does not take a plural.
"The library holds several nineteenth-century anas devoted to famous wits."
That odd little word 'ana' hiding in antique recipes and pharmacists' ledgers simply means 'apiece' — a Latin survivor still doing quiet work after centuries.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of ana
'Ana' comes directly from Latin 'ana', used in medieval and Renaissance prescriptions and accounts in the sense 'of each', which itself translates the Greek distributive phrase 'kat' ana', 'according to each'. The Greek element 'ana-' ('up, back, again, throughout') is the same root seen in words like 'analysis', 'anatomy', and 'anachronism'. The bibliographic sense — a collection of someone's sayings and anecdotes — developed by analogy with titles such as 'Analecta' and became established in English scholarly usage around the seventeenth century.
Related word forms
How ana is actually used
'Ana' is distinctly formal and largely restricted to specialist registers — historical prescriptions, recipe books, bibliographic scholarship, and antiquarian writing. In modern everyday English it is essentially archaic, though it survives in fixed scholarly phrases such as 'the [Name] ana'.
Easily confused with ana
'Anna' is a female given name, whereas 'ana' is a rare adverb meaning 'apiece' or a noun meaning a collection of anecdotes.