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mandrake
6 dictionary results for: mandrake
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
man·drake       [man-dreyk, -drik] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.a narcotic, short-stemmed European plant, Mandragora officinarum, of the nightshade family, having a fleshy, often forked root somewhat resembling a human form.
2.the May apple.
[Origin: 1275–1325; ME, var. of mandrage (short for mandragora), taken by folk etymology as man1 + drake2]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
man·drake       (mān'drāk')  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
    1. A southern European plant (Mandragora officinarum) having greenish-yellow flowers and a branched root. This plant was once believed to have magical powers because its root resembles the human body.
    2. The root of this plant, which contains the poisonous alkaloid hyoscyamine. Also called mandragora.
  2. See May apple.


[Middle English, alteration (influenced by drake, dragon) of mandragora, from Old English, from Latin mandragorās, from Greek.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
May apple  
n.   In both senses also called mandrake.
  1. A rhizomatous plant (Podophyllum peltatum) of eastern North America, having a single, nodding white flower and oval yellow fruit. Although the pulp of the ripe fruit is edible, the roots, leaves, and seeds of the plant are poisonous.
  2. The fruit of this plant.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
mandrake 
c.1150, from M.L. mandragora, from L. mandragoras, from Gk. mandragoras, probably from a non-I.E. word. Folk etymology associated the second element with dragoun and substituted native drake in its place. The forked root is thought to resemble a human form and is said to shriek when pulled from the ground.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
mandrake

noun
1. the root of the mandrake plant; used medicinally or as a narcotic [syn: mandrake root] 
2. a plant of southern Europe and North Africa having purple flowers, yellow fruits and a forked root formerly thought to have magical powers 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Mandrake

Man"drake\, n. [AS. mandragora, L. mandragoras, fr. Gr. ?: cf. F. mandragore.]

1. (Bot.) A low plant (Mandragora officinarum) of the Nightshade family, having a fleshy root, often forked, and supposed to resemble a man. It was therefore supposed to have animal life, and to cry out when pulled up. All parts of the plant are strongly narcotic. It is found in the Mediterranean region.

And shrieks like mandrakes, torn out of the earth, That living mortals, hearing them, run mad. --Shak.

Note: The mandrake of Scripture was perhaps the same plant, but proof is wanting.

2. (Bot.) The May apple (Podophyllum peltatum). See May apple under May, and Podophyllum. [U.S.]

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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