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mandrake

Etymology and origin of the English word mandrake

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈmændɹeɪk/[1]

Etymology

It comes from Middle English mondrake, mandrake,[2][3] an alteration of mandragora,[4][2][3][5][6] from Medieval Latin mandragora,[2][3] from Latin mandragoras,[4][2][3] from Ancient Greek μανδραγόρας (mandragóras),[4][2][3] probably from a non-Indo-European language.[3] By folk etymology the -drag- was taken as dragon and replaced with drake “dragon”,[4][2][3][6] and the first part as man, from the human shape of the root.[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Any plant of the genus Mandragora (about 1325 as mondrake in Barnhart; 1382 in the OED).[2][7]

Semantic evolution

The forked root was thought to resemble the human body and to shriek when pulled from the ground,[4][2][3][5] and the plant was credited with magical powers[4][5] and regarded as an aphrodisiac.[3] It was used to promote conception, as a purgative and as a narcotic.[5] In the U.S. the name was given to the May apple (1836).[7][4][5]

Timeline

  • about 1150 – mandragora.[2]
  • about 1325 – mondrake.[2]
  • 1373 – mandrake.[2]
  • 1836 – the American May apple.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A Mediterranean plant (Mandragora officinarum) of the nightshade family, with a forked root once believed to have magical powers because it resembles a human body.
  2. The root of this plant, which is poisonous and was used as a narcotic.
  3. The May apple.

Word family

  • wild mandrake
  • mandragora
  • drake
  • dragon

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Mandrake.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/mandrake. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·