Definition of "manna" []

• In the Bible, the food miraculously provided for the Israelites in the wilderness during their flight from Egypt. (noun)
• Spiritual nourishment of divine origin. (noun)
• Something of value that a person receives unexpectedly: viewed the bonus as manna from heaven. (noun)
• The dried exudate of certain plants, as that of the Mediterranean ash tree, formerly used as a laxative. (noun)
• A sweet granular substance excreted on the leaves of plants by certain insects, especially aphids, and often harvested by ants. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Fair ladies, you drop manna in the way Of starved people] [Shakespeare is not more exact in any thing, than in adapting his images with propriety to his speakers; of which he has here given an instance in making the young Jewess call good fortune, _manna_."
• "In Republican legend, there was once a great warrior who could drink a quart of vodka, play 18 holes of golf and still be able to deny humanity while receiving much manna from the Wall Street demons."
• "They also took some oil they consider holy manna from a chinese place w/o asking for permission and were ribbed for stealing."