MANNA, n. A food miraculously given to the Israelites in the wilderness. When it was no longer supplied to them they settled down and tilled the soil, fertilizing it, as a rule, with the bodies of the original occupants.

Source: THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993)
 

Manna \Man"na\ (m[a^]n"n[.a]), n. [L., fr. Gr. ma`nna, Heb. m[=a]n; cf. Ar. mann, properly, gift (of heaven).]

1. (Script.) The food supplied to the Israelites in their journey through the wilderness of Arabia; hence, divinely supplied food. --Ex. xvi. 15. [1913 Webster]

2. (Bot.) A name given to lichens of the genus Lecanora, sometimes blown into heaps in the deserts of Arabia and Africa, and gathered and used as food; called also manna lichen. [1913 Webster]

3. (Bot. & Med.) A sweetish exudation in the form of pale yellow friable flakes, coming from several trees and shrubs and used in medicine as a gentle laxative, as the secretion of Fraxinus Ornus, and Fraxinus rotundifolia, the manna ashes of Southern Europe. [1913 Webster]

Note: Persian manna is the secretion of the camel's thorn (see Camel's thorn, under Camel); Tamarisk manna, that of the Tamarisk mannifera, a shrub of Western Asia; Australian, manna, that of certain species of eucalyptus; Brian[,c]on manna, that of the European larch. [1913 Webster]

Manna insect (Zool), a scale insect (Gossyparia mannipara), which causes the exudation of manna from the Tamarix tree in Arabia. [1913 Webster]

Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
 

51 Moby Thesaurus words for "manna": TLC, ambrosia, benefaction, benefit, benevolence, blessing, bonne bouche, boon, bread, care, cate, choice morsel, daily bread, dainty, delicacy, dessert, economic support, endowment, favor, godsend, goody, grace, keep, kickshaw, livelihood, living, loaves and fishes, maintenance, manna from heaven, meat, morsel, mothering, nectar, nourishment, nurture, price support, provision, savory, subsidization, subsidy, subsistence, subvention, support, sustainment, sustenance, sustentation, tender loving care, tidbit, titbit, treat, upkeep

Source: Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
 

manna

Source: WordNet (r) 2.0
 

Manna \Man"na\, n. [L., fr. Gr. ?, Heb. m[=a]n; cf. Ar. mann, properly, gift (of heaven).]

1. (Script.) The food supplied to the Israelites in their journey through the wilderness of Arabia; hence, divinely supplied food. --Ex. xvi. 15.

2. (Bot.) A name given to lichens of the genus Lecanora, sometimes blown into heaps in the deserts of Arabia and Africa, and gathered and used as food.

3. (Bot. & Med.) A sweetish exudation in the form of pale yellow friable flakes, coming from several trees and shrubs and used in medicine as a gentle laxative, as the secretion of Fraxinus Ornus, and F. rotundifolia, the manna ashes of Southern Europe.

Note: Persian manna is the secretion of the camel's thorn (see Camel's thorn, under Camel); Tamarisk manna, that of the Tamarisk mannifera, a shrub of Western Asia; Australian, manna, that of certain species of eucalyptus; Brian[,c]on manna, that of the European larch.

Manna grass (Bot.), a name of several tall slender grasses of the genus Glyceria. they have long loose panicles, and grow in moist places. Nerved manna grass is Glyceria nervata, and Floating manna grass is G. flu.

Manna insect (Zo["o]l), a scale insect (Gossyparia mannipara), which causes the exudation of manna from the Tamarisk tree in Arabia.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)