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

[Middle English, from Old English, from Late Latin, from Greek, from Aramaic mannā, from Hebrew mān.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.