mandrake
n 1: the root of the mandrake plant; used medicinally or as a
narcotic [syn: mandrake root, mandrake]
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: mandrake, devil's apples,
Mandragora officinarum]
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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.
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And shrieks like mandrakes, torn out of the earth,
That living mortals, hearing them, run mad. --Shak.
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Note: The mandrake of Scripture was perhaps the same plant,
but proof is wanting.
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2. (Bot.) The May apple (Podophyllum peltatum). See May
apple under May, and Podophyllum. [U.S.]
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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.
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2. The early part or springtime of life.
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His May of youth, and bloom of lustihood. --Shak.
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3. (Bot.) The flowers of the hawthorn; -- so called from
their time of blossoming; also, the hawthorn.
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The palm and may make country houses gay. --Nash.
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Plumes that mocked the may. --Tennyson.
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4. The merrymaking of May Day. --Tennyson.
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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.
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