ˈmanə noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English, from Late Latin, from Greek, from Hebrew mān
1.
a. : food miraculously supplied to the Israelites in their journey through the wilderness
b. : divinely supplied spiritual nourishment
c. : something of value that falls one's way : windfall
the seasonal manna of flying ants and palm grubs are … joyfully accepted for the cooking pot — Norman Lewis
onto the pavement fell a strange manna of caramels and razors — Constantine FitzGibbon
2.
a. : the sweetish dried exudation of the European flowering ash and related plants that contains mannitol as its chief constituent and has been used medicinally as a laxative and demulcent
b. : a similar product from various other plants (as a tamarisk)
3.
a. : manna lichen
b. : manna grass
c. : manna ash