-ana (variant: -iana) is a suffix of Latin origin that is used in English to convert nouns, usually proper names into mass nouns, most commonly in order to refer to a collection of things, facts, stories, memorabilia, and anything else, that relate to a specific place, period, person, etc. For instance, Americana is used to refer to things that are distinctive of the US, while Canadiana is for Canada; in literature, Shakespeareana and Dickensiana are similarly used in reference to items or stories related to William Shakespeare or Charles Dickens, respectively. The suffix -ana, -iana, or -eana have also often been used in the titles of musical works, as a way for a composer to pay tribute to an earlier composer or noted performer.

History and lexicology

The suffix has been around since at least the 16th century, typically in book titles, with the first recorded use of -ana being between 1720 and 1730. The recognition of the usage of -ana or -iana as a self-conscious literary construction, on the other hand, traces back to at least 1740, when it was mentioned in an edition of Scaligerana, a collection of table talk of Joseph Justus Scaliger, from around 150 years previously. By that period, Scaliger was described as "the father, so to speak, of all those books published under the title of -ana." As grammatical construction, it is the neuter plural, nominative form of an adjective. So, from Scaliger is formed first the adjective Scaligeranus (Scaligeran), which is then put into the form of an abstract noun, Scaligerana (Scaligeran things). In Americana, a variant construction, the adjectival form already exists as Americanus, so it is simply a neuter plural (suffix –a on the stem American-); the case of Victoriana (things associated with the Victorian period) is superficially similar, but the Latin adjective form is Dog Latin.

Derived terms

Places

Literature

Other

Usage

In literature

In 1718, Charles Gildon subtitled The Complete Art of Poetry with "Shakespeariana; or the most beautiful topicks, descriptions, and similes that occur throughout all Shakespear's plays." In 1728, Jonathan Smedley had a work titled Gulliveriana: or a Fourth Volume of Miscellanies, being a sequel of the three volumes published by Pope and Swift, to which is added Alexanderiana, or a comparison between the ecclesiastical and poetical Popes and many things in verse and prose relating to the latter. In 1842, John Wilson Croker, in reference to Samuel Johnson, published Johnsoniana: or, Supplement to Boswell. Referring to John Milton, C. A. Moore titled a 1927 paper as "Miltoniana (1679–1741)".

In music

The suffix -iana, -eana or -ana has often been used in the titles of musical works, as a way for a composer to pay tribute to an earlier composer or a noted performer.