Adjacent Words

Mandrake definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

MAN'DRAKE, n. [L. mandragoras.] A plant of the genus Atropa, growing naturally in Spain, Italy and the Levant. It is a narcotic,and its fresh roots are a violent cathartic. Its effect in rendering barren women prolific is supposed to be imaginary.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the root of the mandrake plant; used medicinally or as a narcotic [syn: mandrake root, mandrake]
2: a plant of southern Europe and North Africa having purple flowers, yellow fruits and a forked root formerly thought to have magical powers [syn: mandrake, devil's apples, Mandragora officinarum]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English, probably alteration of mandragora Date: 14th century 1. a. a Mediterranean herb (Mandragora officinarum) of the nightshade family with large ovate leaves, greenish-yellow or purple flowers, and a large usually forked root resembling a human in form and formerly credited with magical properties b. the root of a mandrake formerly used especially to promote conception, as a cathartic, or as a narcotic and soporific 2. mayapple

Britannica Concise

Any of six plant species of the genus Mandragora (nightshade family), native to the Mediterranean and the Himalayas. The best-known species, M. officinarum, has a short stem bearing a tuft of ovate flowers, with a thick, fleshy, often forked root. The mandrake has long been known for its poisonous properties. In ancient times it was used as a narcotic and an aphrodisiac, and it was believed to have magical powers. When pulled from the ground, its forked root, supposed to resemble the human form, was said to utter a shriek that killed or drove mad anyone who heard it. Once pulled, however, the plant was said to provide soothing sleep, heal wounds, induce love, and facilitate pregnancy. In N. America, the name "mandrake" is often used for the mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum), a spring forest wildflower.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. a poisonous plant, Mandragora officinarum, with white or purple flowers and large yellow fruit, having emetic and narcotic properties and possessing a root once thought to resemble the human form and to shriek when plucked. Etymology: ME mandrag(g)e, prob. f. MDu. mandrag(r)e f. med.L (as MANDRAGORA): assoc. with MAN + drake dragon (cf. DRAKE(1))

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

May May, n. [F. Mai, L. Maius; so named in honor of the goddess Maia (Gr. ?), daughter of Atlas and mother of Mercury by Jupiter.] 1. The fifth month of the year, containing thirty-one days. --Chaucer. 2. The early part or springtime of life. His May of youth, and bloom of lustihood. --Shak. 3. (Bot.) The flowers of the hawthorn; -- so called from their time of blossoming; also, the hawthorn. The palm and may make country houses gay. --Nash. Plumes that micked the may. --Tennyson. 4. The merrymaking of May Day. --Tennyson. Italian may (Bot.), a shrubby species of Spir[ae]a (S. hypericifolia) with many clusters of small white flowers along the slender branches. May apple (Bot.), the fruit of an American plant (Podophyllum peltatum). Also, the plant itself (popularly called mandrake), which has two lobed leaves, and bears a single egg-shaped fruit at the forking. The root and leaves, used in medicine, are powerfully drastic. May beetle, May bug (Zo["o]l.), any one of numerous species of large lamellicorn beetles that appear in the winged state in May. They belong to Melolontha, and allied genera. Called also June beetle. May Day, the first day of May; -- celebrated in the rustic parts of England by the crowning of a May queen with a garland, and by dancing about a May pole. May dew, the morning dew of the first day of May, to which magical properties were attributed. May flower (Bot.), a plant that flowers in May; also, its blossom. See Mayflower, in the vocabulary. May fly (Zo["o]l.), any species of Ephemera, and allied genera; -- so called because the mature flies of many species appear in May. See Ephemeral fly, under Ephemeral. May game, any May-day sport. May lady, the queen or lady of May, in old May games. May lily (Bot.), the lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis). May pole. See Maypole in the Vocabulary. May queen, a girl or young woman crowned queen in the sports of May Day. May thorn, the hawthorn.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mandrake Man"drake, n. [AS. mandragora, L. mandragoras, fr. Gr. ?: cf. F. mandragore.] 1. (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. And shrieks like mandrakes, torn out of the earth, That living mortals, hearing them, run mad. --Shak. Note: The mandrake of Scripture was perhaps the same plant, but proof is wanting. 2. (Bot.) The May apple (Podophyllum peltatum). See May apple under May, and Podophyllum. [U.S.]

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Mandragora.