mina

/ˈmaɪnə/
noun
  1. A unit of weight or money used in ancient Greece, Egypt, and other parts of the ancient world.
    • The merchant paid two minas for the shipment of spices from Egypt.
    • In ancient Athens, a mina of silver was worth about 100 drachmas.
    • Historians found records of a debt of fifty minas in a clay tablet.
  2. A small, brightly colored bird of the starling family, native to Asia and Australia, known for its ability to mimic sounds.
    • The zoo's mina could whistle a tune and say a few words.
    • We watched a mina chase away a larger bird from the feeder.
    • A mina perched on the balcony and began imitating the sound of a ringing phone.