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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. 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. n. The root of this plant, which contains the poisonous alkaloid hyoscyamine. Also called mandragora.
  3. n. See May apple.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. A plant of the genus Mandragora. The mandrake has poisonous properties, and acts as an emetic, purgative, and narcotic. It was in use in ancient times especially for its narcotic effects, and is said to have been employed as an anesthetic. It has been regarded as an aphrodisiac, and used in amorous incantations, as a love-amulet, etc. According to an old fancy the mandrake shrieks when pulled from the ground. The resemblance of its commonly forked root to the human body is probably the ground of this superstition, as well as of the repute of the plant as an aphrodisiac.
  2. n. The May-apple, Podophyllum peltatum.
  3. n. In heraldry, a figure resembling a root with two long and pointed bifurcations usually twisted together, and the whole crowned with leaves and berries.
  4. n. The enchanter's nightshade, Circæa Lutetiana.

Wiktionary

  1. n. mythology A mandragora, a kind of tiny demon immune to fire.
  2. n. botany Any plant of the genus Mandragora, certain of which are said to have medicinal properties; the curiously shaped root of these plants has been likened to the shape of a little man, and thus, has attained some mythic significance.

GNU Webster's 1913

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

WordNet 3.0

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

Etymologies

  1. Middle English, alteration (influenced by drake, dragon) of mandragora, from Old English, from Latin mandragorās, from Greek. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

  • “The mandrake is a plant which has human-shaped roots.”

    WMAM is back.

  • “They say that, though so large and powerful, and so courageous against larger animals, it is afraid of a mouse; that its nature is so cold that it will never seek the company of the female until, wandering in the direction of Paradise, it meets with the plant called the mandrake, and eats of it, and that each female bears but one young one in her life.”

    Christmas: Its Origin and Associations Together with Its Historical Events and Festive Celebrations During Nineteen Centuries

  • “What seems to link all these fantastic beliefs and customs with the story of the dog and the mandrake is the fact that they are closely bound up with the conception of the dog as the guardian of hidden treasure.”

    The Evolution of the Dragon

  • “The goddess Aphrodite was closely related to Cyprus; the mandrake was a magical plant there; and the cowry is so intimately associated with the island as to be called _Cypræa_.”

    The Evolution of the Dragon

  • “Wherefore the mandrake is a bewitching plant, which enchants the eyes, and charms away pains, sorrows, and all passions by sleep.”

    Treatise on the Love of God

  • “For the same reason as that suggested by Calmet, Columella calls the mandrake _semihomo_:”

    Aphrodisiacs and Anti-aphrodisiacs: Three Essays on the Powers of Reproduction

  • “[258] "The Arabians call the mandrake 'the devil's candle,' on account of its shining appearance in the night.”

    The Complete Poems of Sir Thomas Moore Collected by Himself with Explanatory Notes

  • “Poppy-heads were used "with success" to relieve diseases of the head, and the root of the "mandrake," from its supposed resemblance to the human form, was a very ancient remedy for barrenness and was evidently so esteemed by Rachel, in the account given in Genesis 30: 14 ff.”

    Three Thousand Years of Mental Healing

  • “Let a young maid pick of rosemary two roots; of monk's-hood --" A line had been drawn through this last word, and another word written above it; but the ink was so faded, the page so woolly and thin with use, that it was impossible to decipher the correction; perhaps it was "mother-wort," an herb Philly did not know; or it might be "mandrake"?”

    The Voice

  • “He used to compare reputation to snuff, which may be beneficial if used occasionally and moderately, but which clouds and injures the brain when used in excess; and to the mandrake which is soothing when smelt at a distance, but if brought too close, induces drowsiness and lethargy.”

    The Spirit of St. Francis de Sales

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hypernyms (3)

Words that are more generic or abstract

  1. root
  1. herbaceous plant
  1. Herb

same context (17)

Words that are found in similar contexts

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  3. botheration
  1. jalap
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  3. burdock
  1. homunculi
  2. hayfields
  3. hellebore
  1. calomel
  2. cable-like
  3. Teletype
  1. rope-like
  2. savin
  3. groundsel
  1. alkanet
  2. ratsbane

reverse dictionary (9)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. mandragora
  1. mandrake root
  1. mandrag
  1. mandragon
  1. May apple
  1. mayapple
  1. mandragorite
  1. ground-lemon
  1. mandrake

tags (2)

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  1. plant
  1. heraldry

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  • dailyword Harry and his classmates were studying these in Herbology. Jun 16, 2012

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‘mandrake’ has been looked up 1463 times, loved by 1 person, added to 27 lists, commented on 1 time, and has a Scrabble score of 15.