manna

[ man-uh ]
See synonyms for manna on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the food miraculously supplied to the Israelites in the wilderness. Exodus 16:14–36.

  2. any sudden or unexpected help, advantage, or aid to success.

  1. divine or spiritual food.

  2. the exudation of the ash Fraxinus ornus and related plants: source of mannitol.

Origin of manna

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English, from Late Latin, from Greek mánna, from Hebrew mān, possibly meaning “gift, favor”

Words that may be confused with manna

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use manna in a sentence

  • He's the only one that's eva had the mannas to ask after me, except that lo'd.

    Ragged Lady, Complete | William Dean Howells

British Dictionary definitions for manna

manna

/ (ˈmænə) /


noun
  1. Old Testament the miraculous food which sustained the Israelites in the wilderness (Exodus 16:14–36)

  2. any spiritual or divine nourishment

  1. a windfall; an unexpected gift (esp in the phrase manna from heaven)

  2. 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

Origin of manna

1
Old English via Late Latin from Greek, from Hebrew mān

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012