mandrake

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

noun

a narcotic, short-stemmed European plant, Mandragora officinarum, of the nightshade family, having a fleshy, often forked root somewhat resembling a human form.
the May apple.

Origin of mandrake

1275–1325; Middle English, variant of mandrage (short for mandragora), taken by folk etymology as man1 + drake2

Words nearby mandrake

mandira, mandola, mandolin, mandorla, mandragora, mandrake, mandrel, mandrill, mandrin, manducate, mandyas

Example sentences from the Web for mandrake

British Dictionary definitions for mandrake

mandrake

mandragora (mænˈdræɡərə)

/ (ˈmændreɪk) /

noun

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
another name for the May apple

Word Origin for mandrake

C14: probably via Middle Dutch from Latin mandragoras (whence Old English mandragora), from Greek. The form mandrake was probably adopted through folk etymology, because of the allegedly human appearance of the root and because drake (dragon) suggested magical powers