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Anna

3 stages from Sanskrit to English.

Today it means A historical monetary unit of British India, equal to one-sixteenth of a rupee.

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

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