nanna
part of speech
noun (a nanna, nannas; Nanna as a name)
meaning for a pupil
1) (informal, Australia, NZ, UK, Ireland) Grandmother; a child's name for their gran. tree →
2) (informal, joking) An old-fashioned or fussy person: such a nanna. tree →
3) (Australia, informal) nanna nap: a short sleep during the day. tree →
sense in the lessons
Very common in Australian and New Zealand family talk: «We're going to Nanna's for lunch». Also spelled «nana» or «nan». In jokes, «You're such a nanna» means you act old for your age. Phrases: Nanna's house, nanna nap, granny.
examples
- We're staying at Nanna's for the weekend. tree →
- Nanna made pikelets for afternoon tea. tree →
- My nanna knits me a jumper every winter. tree →
- Dad had a nanna nap on the couch. tree →
- Stop being such a nanna and come to the party! tree →
- Nanna and Pop live by the beach. tree →
- I called Nanna to say happy birthday. tree →
note
Informal: in formal writing say «grandmother». As a name for one's own grandmother it often takes a capital: Nanna. Spellings vary: nana, nanna, nan. Do not confuse with «nanny» (a person paid to look after children, or a female goat).
In the corpora
- In Brisbane, Nanna buys Ava-Rose an ice cream every arvo (Aussie for afternoon).
- Mum: «She'll rot her teeth!» Nanna: «She's a growing girl!»
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «nanna» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.