This is the 163rd most frequent Croatian word.
imala
"Imala" means "had" (feminine singular past tense of "to have").
The word 'imala' is used as the past-tense form of the verb 'imati' (to have) to indicate possession in the past.
Imala je puno knjiga u svojoj biblioteci.
She had many books in her library.
Here, 'imala' is again the past tense of 'imati', showing possession of a dog in her younger days.
Kad je bila mlada, imala je psa.
When she was young, she had a dog.
In this sentence, 'imala' is used to express the past possession of an abstract concept, an opportunity.