noun1. 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. another name for the May apple
Word origin
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 appearanceof the root and because
drake (dragon) suggested magical powers