soma

1 of 2

noun (1)

so·​ma ˈsō-mə How to pronounce soma (audio)
: an intoxicating juice from a plant of disputed identity that was used in ancient India as an offering to the gods and as a drink of immortality by worshippers in Vedic ritual and worshipped in personified form as a Vedic god

soma

2 of 2

noun (2)

plural somata ˈsō-mə-tə How to pronounce soma (audio) or somas
1
: the body of an organism
2
: all of an organism except the germ cells
3

Examples of soma in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
One that understands that, indeed, our psyches and somas are intertwined. Hannah Zeavin, The New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2023 The soma that Huxley imagined in 1932 bears a striking resemblance to a certain real-world drug today: marijuana. Blaine Cooper, Star Tribune, 10 Apr. 2021 The lower classes do all the menial jobs, and are issued a dose of soma at the end of each workday. Blaine Cooper, Star Tribune, 10 Apr. 2021 In one dramatic episode from Brave New World, John the Savage, a character born to human parents and raised among humans who live apart from the World State’s wiles, attempts to foment a rebellion among a compliant class of his fellow citizens by depriving them of their precious soma. Jack Butler, National Review, 25 Oct. 2020 The MaddAddam books have some echoes of Brave New World, where the BlyssPluss pill is a bit like Huxley’s soma. Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 7 Mar. 2023 All of their problems are solved with their daily dose of soma. Blaine Cooper, Star Tribune, 10 Apr. 2021 This work presents a planner that can automatically find an optimal assembly sequence for a dual-arm robot to assemble the soma blocks. IEEE Spectrum, 6 Mar. 2020 The dying cells are like the soma, and the surviving ones are like the germline. Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 16 Jan. 2012

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'soma.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Sanskrit; akin to Avestan haoma, a Zoroastrian ritual drink, Sanskrit sunoti he presses out

Noun (2)

New Latin somat-, soma, from Greek sōmat-, sōma body

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1827, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

circa 1885, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of soma was in 1827

Dictionary Entries Near soma

Cite this Entry

“Soma.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soma. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Medical Definition

soma

1 of 2 noun
so·​ma ˈsō-mə How to pronounce soma (audio)
plural somata ˈsō-mət-ə How to pronounce soma (audio) or somas
1
: the body of an organism
2
: all of an organism except the germ cells
3

Soma

2 of 2 trademark
So·​ma ˈsō-mə How to pronounce Soma (audio)
used for a preparation of carisoprodol

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