Main Entry: man·na

Pronunciation: \ˈma-nə\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Old English, from Late Latin, from Greek, from Hebrew mān

Date: before 12th century

1 a : food miraculously supplied to the Israelites in their journey through the wilderness b : divinely supplied spiritual nourishment c : a usually sudden and unexpected source of gratification, pleasure, or gain
2 a : the sweetish dried exudate of a Eurasian ash (especially Fraxinus ornus) that contains mannitol and has been used as a laxative and demulcent b : a similar product excreted by a scale insect (Trabutina mannipara) feeding on the tamarisk