Manna

//ˈmænə// name, noun

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname from Italian.
  2. 2
    A surname from Bengali.
Noun
  1. 1
    Food miraculously produced for the Israelites in the desert in the book of Exodus. countable, uncountable

    "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."

  2. 2
    (Old Testament) food that God gave the Israelites during the Exodus wordnet
  3. 3
    Any boon which comes into one's hands by good luck. broadly, countable, uncountable

    "Fair ladies, you drop manna in the way / Of starved people."

  4. 4
    hardened sugary exudation of various trees wordnet
  5. 5
    The sugary sap of the manna gum tree which oozes out from holes drilled by insects and falls to the ground around the tree. countable, uncountable

    "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."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English, from Old English, from Late Latin manna, from Ancient Greek μάννα (mánna), from Hebrew מן (mān, “'manna”).

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Italian Manna. Possible etymologies include the feminine form of Manno, or a nickname or metonym based on manna (sense 1).

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Bengali [script needed] (Manna), a name used by the Mahishya agrarian caste.

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