mandrake
Americannoun
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a narcotic, short-stemmed European plant, Mandragora officinarum, of the nightshade family, having a fleshy, often forked root somewhat resembling a human form.
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the May apple.
noun
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a Eurasian solanaceous plant, Mandragora officinarum, with purplish flowers and a forked root. It was formerly thought to have magic powers and a narcotic was prepared from its root
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another name for the May apple
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of mandrake
1275–1325; Middle English, variant of mandrage (short for mandragora ), taken by folk etymology as man + drake 2
Explanation
A mandrake is a plant with a thick root that looks a little like a parsnip or a fat carrot. Mandrakes can be poisonous if you eat them. Although a mandrake isn't edible, it is sometimes used in folk medicine. The root of the mandrake has very slight hallucinogenic qualities, and if it's consumed in large quantities it can cause death or coma. Mandrakes are famous in literature and folklore — they appear in the Bible, and one story claims that they scream when pulled from the ground, killing the person who harvests them.
Vocabulary lists containing mandrake
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
I often think of #HarryPotter when I stumble across images in #BHLib like these: Snowy Owl, spiders, bezoar, and mandrake!
From Slate ● Nov. 20, 2017
Women who can’t get pregnant eat mandrake roots, like in Harry Potter.
From Salon ● Jan. 24, 2016
For centuries, men have regarded the mandrake with awe.
From Time Magazine Archive
Medieval men, certain that there was something odd about mandrake, believed that it would shriek in Gothic agony when pulled out of the ground.
From Time Magazine Archive
The truth was that mandragora, made from the juice of the mandrake, brought a profound sleep.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
At Hogwarts, the roots of the mandrakes are squalling babies whose cries can be fatal.
From New York Times ● Oct. 4, 2018
More than a dozen of Kahlo’s botanically focused artworks are on display there: still lifes with fruit and parrots, self-portraits framed by fuchsias and zinnias, surreal depictions of engorged vegetation and magical mandrakes.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 6, 2015
Most exhibits are hands-off, though the show does encourage children to pull the potted mandrakes in the greenhouse, which screech in response.
From New York Times ● Dec. 6, 2012
The frequent references to palms, cedars, oaks, vines, mandrakes, etc. etc., are vastly significant to the adept in symbolism.
From The Eliminator; or, Skeleton Keys to Sacerdotal Secrets by Westbrook, Richard B.
In ancient maps it was usual for the cartographer to mark blank spaces for the unexplored regions, with some such legend as "here are anthropophagi," or "here are mandrakes," scrawled across them.
From The Vital Message by Doyle, Arthur Conan, Sir
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
