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
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.
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
Of Morgana, mistress of mandrake and sulfur, Mirren makes an armored, camp enchantress.
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
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.
