manna--prophetes.ai

▪ I. manna¹
    (ˈmænə)
    Also 1 monna, 2–3 manne, 4 mana.
    [a. late L. manna neut. indecl. (later also fem. a stem), a. Hellenistic Gr. µάννα neut. indecl. (LXX and N. T.), ad. (? through Aramaic mannā) Heb. mān (whence Gr. µάν, L. man, occurring more frequently than the longer form in the LXX and Vulgate O. T.: see man n.³).
    G. Ebers (Durch Gosen zum Sinai), gives plausible reasons for believing that the Ancient Egyptian mannu denoted the exudation of Tamarix gallica. As the Arab. mann has the same sense, it seems possible that the Heb. word may represent the name anciently current in the Sinaitic wilderness for this natural product, which in many respects agrees with the description of the miraculous manna, and which is still locally regarded as a dew falling from the sky.
    The etymological tradition or conjecture preserved in Ex. xvi. 15 represents the word as having originated from the question man hū? ‘what is it’ (in Aramaic or supposed archaic Heb.), which grammatically admits of being interpreted ‘It is mān’. (Cf. the Vulgate, l. c.: Dixerunt ad invicem: Manhu, quod interpretatur, ‘quid est hoc?’)
    The word has been adopted in most versions of the Bible, and appears in figurative uses in the literature of most of the countries of Christendom. Cf. Goth., OHG. (MHG., mod.G.), Du., Sw., It. manna, F. manne, Sp. maná, Pg. manná.
    Whether the Gr. µάννα, L. manna, fem., meaning a grain of frankincense (sense 9 below), is connected with this word is uncertain, though an oriental origin for it is probable.]
    I. Biblical and allusive uses.
    1. a. The substance miraculously supplied as food to the Children of Israel during their progress through the Wilderness. (See Exodus xvi.)

c 897 K. Alfred Gregory's Past. C. xvii. 124 And eac sceal bion on ðæm breostum ðæs monnan swetnes. c 1000 ælfric Exod. xvi. 31 And nemdon þone mete Manna. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 141 Sunnedei god sende manna from houene. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 99 He let hem reine manne to biliue and gef hem bred of heuene. c 1330 Assump. Virg. (B.M. MS.) 768–9 Thei ouerturned þat ilke stone; Bodi þei founde þer none; But þei sawe in þat stede þana Liand as it were a mana. That manna bitokned hure clene lyf. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) iv. 12 In þe toumbe of sayne Iohn men may fynd na thyng bot manna. c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. lxxviii. x, He..bade the cloudes ambrosian manna rain. 1651 C. Cartwright Cert. Relig. i. 124 The Apostle there calleth Manna spirituall meat, yet was Manna a materiall thing. 1756–7 tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) II. 183 And on the reverse the pot of manna, or, as others will have it, the censor. 1842 J. H. Newman Par. Serm. VI. xi. 156 The manna in the wilderness was a real gift.

b. transf. and fig.

1593 G. Harvey Precursor Pierces Super. Wks. (Grosart) II. 12 To make choice of..the most vertuous hearbes of Philosophie,..and the most heauenly manna of Diuinitie. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. v. i. 294 Faire Ladies you drop Manna in the way Of starued people. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 113 His Tongue Dropt Manna, and could make the worse appear The better reason. 1684 Otway Atheist i. i, Do you dispise your own Manna indeed, and long after Quails? 1822 Lamb Elia Ser. i. Roast Pig, The lean, no lean, but a kind of animal manna. 1890 R. Bridges Shorter Poems iii. London Snow, They gathered up the crystal manna to freeze Their tongues with tasting, their hands with snow-balling.

2. Spiritual nourishment; food divinely supplied, whether for mind or body, esp. the holy eucharist.

1382 Wyclif Rev. ii. 17 To the ouercomynge I shal ȝiue manna hid, or aungel mete. [Similarly 1535 Coverdale and 1611.] c 1450 tr. De Imitatione iii. xl. 110 To þe victour is yoven manna. 1654 Jer. Taylor Real Pres. 58 The word of God, the most honourable and eldest of things is called Manna. 1843 Neale Hymns for Sick (1863) 47 Let not Thy Manna fail me at the last. 1861 Hymns A. & M. No. 314 (‘O food that weary pilgrims love’), O bread of Angel-hosts above, O Manna of the Saints.

† 3. [After F. manne.] a. A valuable staple of food. Obs. (? nonce-use.)

1693 Evelyn De la Quint. Compl. Gard. I. 55 It is us'd in the Winter time to cover Fig-Trees, Artichokes, Succories, Selery, &c. Which are all Manna's of great Value in Gard'ning. Ibid. II. 194 Lettuces are Plants that are..commonly seen in our Kitchen-Gardens, and are indeed the most useful Manna of them.

b. (See quots.)

1816 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. ix. (1818) I. 284 Between the 10th and 15th of August is the time when those [sc. Ephemeræ] of the Seine and Marne..are expected by the fishermen, who call them manna. 1864 Intell. Observ. No. 33. 151 Ephemeræ..commonly known by the name of Manna.

II. In Pharmacy, etc.
4. a. A sweet pale yellow or whitish concrete juice obtained from incisions in the bark of the Manna-ash, Fraxinus Ornus, chiefly in Calabria and Sicily; used in medicine as a gentle laxative. Also, a similar exudation obtained from other plants.

[c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 182 Cole hem, & resolue þeron cassia fistula℥j., thamarindorum, manne ana ℥ss., & boile hem a litil togidere.] 1533 Elyot Cast. Helthe (1541) 58 Pourgers of Choler:..Manna vi drammes at the leaste, and soo to xxv, in the brothe of a henne or capon. 1543 Traheron Vigo's Chirurg., Interpr. Strange Words, Manna is a dewe thicked, and fallynge in certayne places vpon trees,..and vsed for purgations. 1660 F. Brooke tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 4 Upon the Mount Libanus..you may find the Manna, or Celestial dew, which I..took for snow. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 241 This Manna is White and Granulated, and..I think not inferior to the Calabrian. 1764 Chesterfield Lett. to Godson (1890) 354, I made him take a little manna, which has done him good. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XIV. 764/2 Some manna was gathered from the green leaves [of a pine], but it could never be condensed. 1822–34 Good's Study Med. (ed. 4) IV. 344 It [juice of birch-tree] is easily obtained by wounding the trunk, and when fresh is a sweetish and limpid fluid in its concrete state affording a brownish manna. 1830 Lindley Nat. Syst. Bot. 92 The Manna of Arabia is produced by several species of Hedysarum. 1856 Stanley Sinai & Pal. i ii. 69 Feathery tamarisks..on whose leaves is found what the Arabs call manna.

b. with qualifying word, as cane manna, canulated manna, fat manna, flake manna, flaky manna, lachrymatory manna; Calabrian manna, Levant manna, Sicilian manna, Syrian manna, Tolfa manna; Australian manna, a secretion of certain species of Eucalyptus, esp. E. viminalis; Brian{cced}on manna, a substance secreted by the common larch; Hebrew, Jews', Mount Sinai, Persian manna, the product of Alhaga maurorum or of Tamarix gallica var. mannifera; lerp manna = lerp; Madagascar manna = dulcite.

1611 Cotgr., Manne de Calabre, Calabrian Manna; the best and most lasting Manna... Manne de Cotton..the worse kind of Leuant Manna, and the worst of all others. 1727–41 Chambers Cycl. s.v., Formerly the Syrian manna was in the most repute, but now it gives way to the Calabrian. 1753 Ibid. Supp., Manna Mastichina... This is what we usually know..under the name of Manna Persicum, or Persian Manna, which is at this time in use in medicine in the East. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) X. 537/2 The larger pieces, called flake manna, are usually preferred. Ibid. 538/2 This is the best kind, and by the people of [Sicily] is called lachrymatory or cane manna. Ibid., The Sicilian manna is dearer and more esteemed than that of Calabria. 1811 A. T. Thomson Lond. Disp. (1818) 179 It is collected in baskets, and known under the name of manna grassa, fat manna... A finer kind of manna is procured, which is called canulated or flaky manna, manna in cannoli. 1839 Penny Cycl. XIV. 386/1 The kind which is most abundant is by the Arabs called toorunjbeen, which is often translated ‘Persian manna’. Ibid. 386/2 A sweetish exudation is produced on the larch (Larix europea), which forms the Manna brigantiaca, or Brian{cced}on Manna of some Pharmacopœias. 1864 Chambers' Encycl. VI. 307/2 The manna of the Israelites..appears probably..to have been the saccharine substance called Mount Sinai Manna. 1883 Encycl. Brit. XV. 493/2 The Lerp manna of Australia is of animal origin.

c. manna in sorts [= F. manne en sortes, pharmaceutical L. manna in sortibus], manna in tears [= F. manne en larmes]: see quots.

1853 Royle Man. Mat. Med. (ed. 2) 542 Manna in tears is a pure kind, in bright and roundish white grains... Inferior kinds are in smaller pieces,..and often intermixed with impurities. These are called Manna in sorts, Fat Manna, Tolfa Manna, &c. 1866 Treas. Bot. 823/2 The inferior [kind], or ‘manna in sorts’ [is obtained] from cuts [in the stem of the Ash] near the ground.

† 5. In early Chemistry: A white powder. Obs.

1694 Salmon Bate's Dispens. (1713) 209/1 This is the same Medicine which is call'd Manna of Lead by Schroder. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), s.v., Chymical Manna, a Substance distill'd from Precipitate, whiter than Snow.

6. (In full Poland manna or Polish manna = F. manne de Pologne.) = manna seeds (see 9).

1785 Martyn Rousseau's Bot. xiii. (1794) 139 The seeds of this [Festuca fluitans].. appear there under the name of Manna. 1864 Chambers' Encycl. VI. 308/1 They [the seeds]..are very palatable and nutritious, and are known in shops as Polish Manna, Manna Seeds, and Manna Croup. 1866 Treas. Bot. 718/2 Manna, Poland. Glyceria fluitans.

7. A species of grass, Setaria (Panicum) italica, better known as Italian or Hungarian millet, originally native of Asia, but now extensively cultivated for fodder in Europe and South Africa.

1897 Agric. Jrnl. C. Good Hope X. 108 You have done the sensible thing in sending a specimen of your so-called Manna for identification... Well, it is Setaria italica, Beauv., in one of its varieties.

† 8. A grain (of frankincense); frankincense in grains. Obs.
[Strictly another word: a. Gr. µάννα, L. manna, fem. a stem: see etymological note above.]

1601 Holland Pliny I. 367 As for the small crums or fragments [of incense] which fall off by shaking, we called Manna, (i. Thuris). 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp., Manna Thuris, the Manna of Frankincense, a term used by the ancient physicians to express such small pieces of frankincense..as broke off..in carriage.

9. attrib. and Comb., as manna-dew, manna-meal; manna-bearing, manna-eating, manna-like, manna-yielding adjs.; manna ash (tree), the tree Fraxinus Ornus; manna-grass, † (a) = dew-grass; (b) the aquatic grass Glyceria fluitans; manna-groats: see manna-croup; manna-gum, a species of Eucalyptus, E. viminalis; manna lichen, either of the lichens Lecanora esculenta and L. affinis; manna-mead, a fermented beverage obtained from manna; manna seeds, the seeds of manna-grass, Glyceria fluitans; manna sugar = mannite; manna tree = manna ash. Also manna-croup.

1715 J. Petiver in Phil. Trans. XXIX. 238 This..more resembles our *Manna Ash. 1892 Pall Mall G. 21 July 3/1 The slanting lights which played through manna-ash, acacia-hedge, and tamarisk.

1864 Chambers' Encycl. VI. 307 There are several other manna-yielding plants besides the ash, especially the *manna-bearing Eucalyptus.

1819 Keats La Belle Dame vii, She found me roots of relish sweet, And honey wild, and *manna-dew.

1875 E. White Life in Christ iii. xvii. (1878) 218 The physical death, died by the *manna-eating fathers.

1597 Gerarde Herbal i. xx. §1. 26 In English it may be called *Manna grasse, or Dew grasse. 1759 B. Stillingfl. tr. Gedner's Use Curiosity in Misc. Tracts (1762) 182 The seed of the flote or manna grass, affords a very pleasing..nourishment to man. 1847 Darlington Amer. Weeds (1860) 381 Floating Glyceria. Manna-grass.

[1834 G. Bennett Wanderings in N.S.W. I. xvi. 319 The elegant drooping manna-trees..were numerous.] 1884 A. Nilson Timber Trees New South Wales 74 E[ucalyptus] viminalis—*Manna Gum;..Flooded Gum.— An elegant tree, attaining a height of 150 feet and a diameter of 8 feet. [1887 Manna-drooping Gums: see gum n.² 5]. 1937 Discovery Dec. 364/2 The Greater Gliding 'Possum..feeds also on several other eucalypts, particularly manna-gum and long-leafed box. 1940 H. Ellis My Life iv. 102 The curious variety of manna gum I knew only there [sc. in Australia]. 1961 Coast to Coast 1959–60 60 Before me was a track running between walls of manna⁓gum casuarina, tea-tree in full blossom, and wedding⁓bush even whiter.

1864 Reader No. 85. 205/2 Authors who have described the *manna-lichen.

1874 L. Carr Jud. Gwynne I. vii. 235 As he listened to these *manna-like words.

1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp., Manna,..the spirituous part of the *manna-mead.

1820 C. R. Maturin Melmoth (1892) III. xxviii. 115 They partook of this *manna-meal,—this food that seemed to have dropped from heaven.

1764 Mus. Rusticum II. lxxxviii. 300 The seeds of this grass [flote fescue] are gathered yearly in Poland,..and sold under the name of *manna-seeds.

1836 Brande Chem. 906 Mannite; *Manna-Sugar.

1770 Phil. Trans. LX. 233 The *Manna tree..is a kind of ash tree. 1773 Brydone Sicily xxxvii. (1809) 353 The manna-tree is esteemed the most profitable. 1864 *Manna-yielding [see manna-bearing above].

Hence ˈmanna'd a. (nonce-wd.) [-ed²], sweetened as with manna; honeyed.

1776 Mickle tr. Camoens' Lusiad ix. 377 Enraged, he sees..each, for some base interest of his own, With Flattery's manna'd lips assail the throne.

▪ II. ‖ ˈmanna² Obs. rare^—1.
[Hellenistic Gr. µάννα, v.r. µάναα (Vulg. manna, manaa), occurring freq. in the LXX as a transliteration of Heb. minḥā{suph} offering, sacrifice. Cf. Syriac mn''.]

1382 Wyclif Baruch i. 10 Makeþ manaa [1388 Make ȝe sacrifice]. 1611 Bible Ibid., Prepare yee manna [margin, Gr. corruptly for Mincha, a meat offering].