mandrake

English

Etymology

From Middle English mandrake, mandroke, an alteration of mandragora with the ending -dragora reinterpreted as related to dragon and replaced with native drake, from Old English mandragora, from Medieval Latin mandragorās.

Pronunciation

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Noun

mandrake (2)

mandrake (countable and uncountable, plural mandrakes)

1. (mythology) A mandragora, a kind of tiny demon immune to fire.
2. Any plant of the genus Mandragora, certain of which are said to have medicinal or aphrodisiac properties; the root of these plants often resembles the shape of a small person, hence occasioning various mythic, magical, or occult uses.
3. A root of a mandrake plant that resembled human form, especially one kept or used for magic or occult purposes.
   • 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 75:

     Mandrakes were sometimes considered in the light of familiars. Witches kept both male and female specimens of the magic root in bottles[.]

4. (slang) The drug methaqualone.

   Synonym: (plural) mandies

Derived terms

Derived terms

• American mandrake
• mandrake apple
• mandrake root
• mandrake shriek
• mandrake wine
• wild mandrake

Related terms

• mandragora

Translations

mythology

• French: mandragore (fr) f
• Portuguese: mandrágora (pt) f

botany

• Arabic: يَبْرُوح (yabrūḥ), لُفَّاح m (luffāḥ), بَيْض الْجِنّ m (bayḍ al-jinn), تُفَّاح الْمَجَانِين m (tuffāḥ al-majānīn), مَانْدْرَاكُورَا (māndrākōrā), تُفَّاح الْجِنّ m (tuffāḥ al-jinn)
• Aramaic:

  Classical Syriac: ܝܲܒܼܪܘܼܚܵܐ m (yaḇrūḥā)

  Hebrew: יַבְרוּחָא m (yaḇrūḥā)

• Armenian: մանրագոր (hy) (manragor)
• Catalan: mandràgora
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 風茄／风茄 (fēngjiā), 曼德拉草 (màndélācǎo)

• Czech: pokřín, pekřín
• Danish: alrune
• Dutch: alruin (nl) f, mandragora (nl)
• Finnish: mandrake (fi), alruuna (fi)
• French: mandragore (fr) f
• Georgian: მანდრაგორა (mandragora)
• German: Alraune (de) f
• Greek: μανδραγόρας (el) m (mandragóras)

  Ancient: μανδραγόρας m (mandragóras), μώριος f (mṓrios)

• Hebrew: דּוּדָא (he) m (dúda)
• Hungarian: mandragóra (hu)
• Italian: mandragora
• Japanese: マンドラゴラ (ja) (mandoragora)
• Latin: mandragoras f
• Maori: manitareki
• Norwegian: alruner
• Persian: شابیزک (šâbizak), مردم‌گیاه sg (mardomgiyāh), استرنگ sg (estarang), سگ‌کنک sg (sagkanak), مهرگیاه (fa) sg (mehrgiyāh)
• Polish: mandragora (pl) f, alrauna (pl) f (root)
• Portuguese: mandrágora (pt) f
• Romanian: mandragoră (ro) f
• Russian: мандраго́ра (ru) f (mandragóra)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: мандрагора f, алрауна f, буновина f, надлишка f

  Roman: mandragora (sh) f, alrauna (sh) f, bunovina (sh) f, nadliška (sh) f

• Slovak: mandragora f
• Spanish: mandrágora (es) f
• Swedish: alruna (sv) c
• Turkish: adamotu (tr)
• Ukrainian: мандраго́ра f (mandrahóra)
• Yiddish: ליבעפּעלע n (libepele)