noun
mandrake
MAND-rayk
noun
1
A plant (genus Mandragora) with a forked root that can resemble a human figure, long associated with magic and folklore.
"Medieval herbalists believed pulling a mandrake root could cause a deadly scream."
2
In fantasy fiction, a small demon-like plant creature.
"The young wizards learned to repot screaming mandrakes in class."
How to Use Mandrake
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA real plant famous in folklore for its human-shaped root and magical associations, and a name borrowed by fantasy fiction for a similar plant-creature.
Word Forms
mandrakes plural
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.
Test yourself on “mandrake”
A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage
→
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
Medieval herbalists believed pulling a _____ root could cause a deadly scream.
Etymology
From Middle English mandrake, altered from mandragora after its ending was mistakenly linked to "dragon" and respelled with "drake."