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Dictionary Language resources

mandrake

Pronunciation: /ˈmandreɪk/

Translate mandrake | into Italian

Definition of mandrake

noun

a Mediterranean plant of the nightshade family, with a forked fleshy root which supposedly resembles the human form and which was formerly used in herbal medicine and magic; it was alleged to shriek when pulled from the ground.
- Mandragora officinarum, family Solanaceae

Origin:

Middle English mandrag(g)e, from Middle Dutch mandrag(r)e, from medieval Latin mandragora; associated with man (because of the root) + drake in the Old English sense 'dragon'