mandrake
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man·drake
(măn′drāk′)n.
1.
a. A southern European plant (Mandragora officinarum) in the nightshade family, having greenish-yellow flowers and a branched root. This plant was once believed to have magical powers because its root resembles the human body.
b. The root of this plant, which contains the poisonous alkaloid hyoscyamine. In both senses also called mandragora.
2. See mayapple.
[Middle English, alteration (influenced by drake, dragon) of mandragora, from Old English, from Latin mandragorās, from Greek, of unknown origin.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
mandrake
(ˈmændreɪk) ormandragora
n
1. (Plants) 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. (Plants) another name for the May apple
[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]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
man•drake
(ˈmæn dreɪk, -drɪk)n.
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. May apple.
[1275–1325; alter. of mandrage (taken by folk etym. as man + drake2 in sense “dragon”), probably < Middle Dutch < Medieval Latin mandragora mandragora]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
mandrake
A plant with a human-shaped root believed to have particularly magical qualities.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
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Noun | 1. | ![]() devil's apples, Mandragora officinarum, mandrake - a plant of southern Europe and North Africa having purple flowers, yellow fruits and a forked root formerly thought to have magical powers root - (botany) the usually underground organ that lacks buds or leaves or nodes; absorbs water and mineral salts; usually it anchors the plant to the ground |
2. | ![]() herb, herbaceous plant - a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests genus Mandragora, Mandragora - a genus of stemless herbs of the family Solanaceae mandrake, mandrake root - the root of the mandrake plant; used medicinally or as a narcotic |
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Translations
mandrake
alraunabunovinamandragoranadliška
mandragora
mandragora
alraunamandragora
alraunabunovinamandragoranadliškaалрауна
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
mandrake
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007