ETYM New Lat., from Greek soma, somatos, the body.
1. The body of an organism.
2. All of an organism except the germ cells.
3. Cell body.
Leafless East Indian vine; its sour milky juice formerly used to make an intoxicating drink; SYN. haoma, Sarcostemma acidum.
E Indian vine with milky juice; ancient Indian drink made from it; body of an organism excluding germ or reproductive cells.
Intoxicating drink made from the fermented sap of the Asclepias acida plant, used in Indian religious ritual as a sacrifice to the gods. Its consumption also constituted the central rite in Zoroastrian ritual, where it was known as haoma. Some have argued that the plant was in fact a hallucogenic mushroom.