mandrake

American  

[man-dreyk, -drik] / ˈmæn dreɪk, -drɪk /

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.

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mandrake British  

/ ˈmændreɪk, mænˈdræɡərə /

noun

1. 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

2. another name for the May apple

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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.

Example Sentences

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

Podophyllum resin, or podophyllin, is the resin of the dried root of the mandrake or May apple; Carter combined this with the dried juice of aloes.

From Time Magazine Archive

Their cabinets were stuffed with baroque pearls, narwhal tusks, mandrake roots and fossils.

From Time Magazine Archive

I cut the mandrake root to pieces and put them in a flask of sweet wine to steep.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein