anna

Where does the word "anna" come from? It comes from Sanskrit anna, passing through Hindi before entering English (1720s).

Anna’s story begins in Sanskrit: anna meant “food, grain.” Meant 'food, grain'. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Hindi as ana. Became the name of a small coin, one-sixteenth of a rupee. It reached English by 1720s as anna. British India adopted the term for the currency subunit. Today, anna means a historical monetary unit of British India, equal to one-sixteenth of a rupee.

1. Stage 1 · Sanskrit · ancient anna "food, grain", meant 'food, grain'.
2. Stage 2 · Hindi · medieval ana "a small coin", became the name of a small coin, one-sixteenth of a rupee.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1720s anna "a historical coin worth 1/16 of a rupee", British India adopted the term for the currency subunit.