Mandrage

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An obsolete name for the mandrake, a Eurasian plant with a forked root once thought to resemble a human body
2. A archaic term for the mandrake, a poisonous herb of the nightshade family with a root said to look like a man
3. Old word for the mandrake, a narcotic plant whose forked root was long believed to have magical or healing powers

Etymology: Mandrage is an older English spelling of mandrake, and its history runs through the Latin and Greek names for the plant. The mandrake was known to ancient Greek physicians as "mandragoras," a name whose origin is uncertain, and the Latin "mandragora" passed through Old French as "mandragore." English speakers in the Middle Ages borrowed these forms and reshaped them, and "mandrage" is one of the variant spellings that circulated before the form "mandrake" became standard. The plant's reputation is what made it memorable. Its forked root was thought to resemble a human body, and medieval writers claimed that pulling it from the ground produced a shriek fatal to anyone who heard it, so people supposedly tied the root to a dog to do the work. Such tales were widespread, and they helped give the plant its aura of magic.

Synonyms: mandrake, mandragora