Mandrake definition

Mandrake





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4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  mandrake \man"drake\ (m[a^]n"dr[=a]k), n. [AS. mandragora, L.
     mandragoras, fr. Gr. mandrago`ras: 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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              And shrieks like mandrakes, torn out of the earth,
              That living mortals, hearing them, run mad. --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: The mandrake of Scripture was perhaps the same plant,
           but proof is wanting.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Bot.) The May apple ({Podophyllum peltatum}). See {May
        apple} under {May}, and {Podophyllum}. [U.S.]
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  mandrake root \mandrake root\ n.
     The root of the mandrake plant; used medicinally or as a
     narcotic; as a substance it is also called {mandrake}.
     [WordNet 1.5]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  May \May\, n. [F. Mai, L. Maius; so named in honor of the
     goddess Maia (Gr. Mai^a), daughter of Atlas and mother of
     Mercury by Jupiter.]
     1. The fifth month of the year, containing thirty-one days.
        --Chaucer.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. The early part or springtime of life.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              His May of youth, and bloom of lustihood. --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Bot.) The flowers of the hawthorn; -- so called from
        their time of blossoming; also, the hawthorn.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The palm and may make country houses gay. --Nash.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Plumes that mocked the may.           --Tennyson.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. The merrymaking of May Day. --Tennyson.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {Italian may} (Bot.), a shrubby species of {Spiraea}
        ({Spiraea 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} (Zool.), 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} (Zool.), 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.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  mandrake
       n 1: the root of the mandrake plant; used medicinally or as a
            narcotic [syn: {mandrake root}]
       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: {devil's apples}, {Mandragora
          officinarum}]

















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