Definition of "soma" [‖So•ma]

• The entire body of an organism, exclusive of the germ cells. (noun)
• See cell body. (noun)
• The body of an individual as contrasted with the mind or psyche. (noun)
• An intoxicating or hallucinogenic beverage, used as an offering to the Hindu gods and consumed by participants in Vedic ritual sacrifices. (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.

• "SOMA (from Brave New World by Aldous Huxley) - Named after the food of the Hindu gods, soma is a narcotic, aphrodisiac and entheogen used in the ritual worship of Our (Henry) Ford."
• "Next thing you know she’ll be advocating some kind of Brave New World where the children are all reared at centers and adults are free to frolic in soma-induced hazes."
• "In Aldous Huxley's futuristic classic of the 1930s, Brave New World, people constantly glide into a dreamy, cheery state caused by a drug called soma, which provides "all the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects.""