Dictionary

manna en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈmænə/
• (US) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Biblical Hebrew מָן (mān)bor. Ancient Greek μάννα (mánna)der. Late Latin mannader. Old English manna Middle English English manna From Middle English, from Old English, from Late Latin manna, from Ancient Greek μάννα (mánna), from Hebrew מן (mān, “'manna”).

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) Food miraculously produced for the Israelites in the desert in the book of Exodus.
   • And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat. 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 16:14-15:
   • The leaves of the foreſt were loaded with manna, pure amber dropped from every bough, honey diſtilled from the rifted rock, and the humming bee, drunk with joy, ſtrayed from flower to flower, forgetful of his burſting cells. 1769, Firishta, translated by Alexander Dow, Tales translated from the Persian of Inatulla of Delhi, volume I, Dublin: P. and W. Wilson et al., page iv:
   • In the juriſdiction of Huquang there are ſeveral places where they gather up great store of Manna, which the Natives take for a Frozen Dew. 1669, John Nievhoff, translated by John Ogilby, An Embassy from the Eaſt-India Company of the United Provinces, to the Grand Tartar Cham Emperour of China, London: John Macock, →OCLC, page 242:
2. (broadly, countable, uncountable) Any boon which comes into one's hands by good luck.
   • The introduction of technical progress in this model can be made in a very simple manner if we assume that it is of the ‘disembodied’ type, that is, something like manna that falls from heaven on all capital goods, old and new. [emphasis in original] 2010, Giancarlo Gandolfo, Economic Dynamics, 4th edition, Springer, page 197f:
   • Fair ladies, you drop manna in the way / Of starved people. c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:
3. (countable, uncountable) The sugary sap of the manna gum tree which oozes out from holes drilled by insects and falls to the ground around the tree.
   • 1966, Bill Beatty, Tales of Old Australia, National Distributors, →ISBN, page 14, discussing old Australian foods The icing on the cake was made from manna, which was gathered under the manna gums. Manna mixed with milk made a splendid icing.

Forms

Deriveds

manna from heaven · tamarisk manna scale · manna croup · manna grass · Australian manna · mannagrass · manna gum · mannose · manniferous · mannitol · manna ash · mannalike · manna scale · manna mealybug · Persian manna · mannitate

Translations (51)

pl manna z nieba (any good thing) · yue 嗎哪 /吗哪 (food) · eo manao (food) · es maná (food) · is manna (food) · tr kudret helvası (sugary sap of the manna gum tree) · ar مَنّ (food) · ro mană (sugary sap of the manna gum tree) · id mana (food) · he מָן (food) · cmn 嗎哪 /吗哪 (food) · ca mannà (food) · pt maná (food) · it manna (food) · sv manna (sugary sap of the manna gum tree) · fr manne (any good thing) · ru ма́нна (food) · ja マンナ (food) · tr kudret helvası (food) · kmr gezo (sugary sap of the manna gum tree) · km ម៉ាណា (food) · bg манна (food) · zdj mani (food) · fi manna (food) · ckb گەزۆ (sugary sap of the manna gum tree) · fa گزانگبین (food) · fr manne (food) · jpa מַנָּא (food) · hi मन्ना (food) · syc ܡܢܢܐ (food) · chr ᎹᎾ (food) · sv manna (any good thing) · pl manna (sugary sap of the manna gum tree) · tl mana (food) · ro mană (any good thing) · th มานา (food) · fi manna (any good thing) · de Manna (food) · hy մանանա (food) · lo ມານາ (food) · fa گزانگبین (sugary sap of the manna gum tree) · pl manna (food) · ga manna (food) · yi מן (food) · sw mana (food) · el μάννα (food) · ro mană (food) · fi manna (sugary sap of the manna gum tree) · sv manna (food) · grc μάννα (food) · fo manna (food)