manna


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man·na

 (măn′ə)
n.
1. In the Bible, the food miraculously provided for the Israelites in the wilderness during their flight from Egypt.
2. Spiritual nourishment of divine origin.
3. Something of value that a person receives unexpectedly: viewed the bonus as manna from heaven.
4. A dried exudate of certain plants, especially the Eurasian ash tree Fraxinus ornus, formerly used as a laxative.
5. A sweet granular substance excreted on the leaves of plants by certain insects, especially scale insects and aphids, sometimes harvested for food.

[Middle English, from Old English, from Late Latin, from Greek, from Aramaic mannā, from Hebrew mān; see mnn in Semitic roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

manna

(ˈmænə)
n
1. (Bible) Old Testament the miraculous food which sustained the Israelites in the wilderness (Exodus 16:14–36)
2. any spiritual or divine nourishment
3. a windfall; an unexpected gift (esp in the phrase manna from heaven)
4. (Pharmacology) a sweet substance obtained from various plants, esp from an ash tree, Fraxinus ornus (manna or flowering ash) of S Europe, used as a mild laxative
[Old English via Late Latin from Greek, from Hebrew mān]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

man•na

(ˈmæn ə)

n., pl. -nas for 5.
1. the food miraculously supplied to the Israelites in the wilderness. Ex. 16:14–36.
2. spiritual sustenance of divine origin.
3. a sudden or unexpected source of help or gratification.
4. any of several crusty edible lichens of the genus Lecanora, common in Arabian and African deserts.
5. the exudation of the ash Fraxinus ornus and related plants: a source of mannitol.
[before 900; Middle English, Old English < Late Latin < Greek mánna < Hebrew mān]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

manna

Food that God gave the Israelites during their time in the wilderness after the food they had brought with them ran out. Manna appeared in the morning on the ground. It was small like hoar frost.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.manna - hardened sugary exudation of various trees
sap - a watery solution of sugars, salts, and minerals that circulates through the vascular system of a plant
2.manna - (Old Testament) food that God gave the Israelites during the Exodusmanna - (Old Testament) food that God gave the Israelites during the Exodus
food, nutrient - any substance that can be metabolized by an animal to give energy and build tissue
Old Testament - the collection of books comprising the sacred scripture of the Hebrews and recording their history as the chosen people; the first half of the Christian Bible
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations

manna

[ˈmænə] Nmaná m
manna from heavenmaná m caído del cielo
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

manna

[ˈmænə] nmanne f
it was like manna from heaven → c'était une manne tombée du ciel
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

manna

nManna nt
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

manna

[ˈmænə] nmanna
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
References in classic literature ?
Further than this, how extraordinarily the ways of God have been manifested beyond example: the sea is divided, a cloud has led the way, the rock has poured forth water, it has rained manna, everything has contributed to your greatness; you ought to do the rest.
My brother Masons swear by the blood that they are ready to sacrifice everything for their neighbor, but they do not give a ruble each to the collections for the poor, and they intrigue, the Astraea Lodge against the Manna Seekers, and fuss about an authentic Scotch carpet and a charter that nobody needs, and the meaning of which the very man who wrote it does not understand.
'Not VERY improving; but there is some manna in the wilderness, my lord.
They are for unhappy people, like me, who must learn to distil by learned patience the aurum potabile from the husks of life, the peace which happier mortals find lying like manna each morn upon the meadows."
Is it not written (For I discern thee other than thou seem'st), Man lives not by bread only, but each word Proceeding from the mouth of God, who fed Our fathers here with manna? In the Mount Moses was forty days, nor eat nor drank; And forty days Eliah without food Wandered this barren waste; the same I now.
"And nightingales roosting in all the trees," he cried; "flowers that neither fail nor fade, bees without stings, honey dew every morning, showers of manna betweenwhiles, fountains of youth and quarries of philosopher's stones--why, I know the very place.
"I shall gather manna for her morning and night: the plains and hillsides in the moon are bleached with manna, Adele."
And now gay-plumaged birds of all sorts began to warble in the trees, and with their varied and gladsome notes seemed to welcome and salute the fresh morn that was beginning to show the beauty of her countenance at the gates and balconies of the east, shaking from her locks a profusion of liquid pearls; in which dulcet moisture bathed, the plants, too, seemed to shed and shower down a pearly spray, the willows distilled sweet manna, the fountains laughed, the brooks babbled, the woods rejoiced, and the meadows arrayed themselves in all their glory at her coming.
DEAR BROTHER SETH--Your letter lay three days beyond my knowing of it at the post, for I had not money enough by me to pay the carriage, this being a time of great need and sickness here, with the rains that have fallen, as if the windows of heaven were opened again; and to lay by money, from day to day, in such a time, when there are so many in present need of all things, would be a want of trust like the laying up of the manna. I speak of this, because I would not have you think me slow to answer, or that I had small joy in your rejoicing at the worldly good that has befallen your brother Adam.
On th' other side up rose BELIAL, in act more graceful and humane; A fairer person lost not Heav'n; he seemd For dignity compos'd and high exploit: But all was false and hollow; though his Tongue Dropt Manna, and could make the worse appear The better reason, to perplex and dash Maturest Counsels: for his thoughts were low; To vice industrious, but to Nobler deeds Timorous and slothful: yet he pleas'd the eare, And with perswasive accent thus began.
Frances' tea was little better than hot water, sugar, and milk; and her pistolets, with which she could not offer me butter, were sweet to my palate as manna.
I judge it was about a couple of weeks or so after this that I dropped old Sandy McWilliams a note one day - it was a Tuesday - and asked him to come over and take his manna and quails with me next day; and the first thing he did when he stepped in was to twinkle his eye in a sly way, and say, -