mannas

Noun

manna (countable and uncountable, plural mannas)

1. Food miraculously produced for the Israelites in the desert in the book of Exodus.
   • 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...1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 16:14-15
2. (broadly) Any boon which comes into one's hands by good luck.
   • Fair ladies, you drop manna in the way / Of starved people.c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
3. The sugary sap of the manna gum tree which oozes out from holes drilled by insects and falls to the ground around the tree.
   • The icing on the cake was made from manna, which was gathered under the manna gums. Manna mixed with milk made a splendid icing.1966, Bill Beatty, Tales of Old Australia, National Distributors, →ISBN, page 14, discussing old Australian foods

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