mandibulate

& s. [MANDIBULAR.] A. As adjective : 2619 Pliny speaks of the precautions with which it was to be plucked up ( H. N. , xxv. 94). Bulleine's Bul wark of Defense is a mine of quaint lore on the subject, and Browne ( Vulgar Errors , bk. ii., ch. vi.) follows in his track. On being torn from the ground, the mandrake was feigned to utter groans inspiring horror ( Cyril To urn our: Atheist's Tragedy, v. 1), causing madne (Shakesp.: Romeo and Juliet , iv. 3; Webster: Duche of Malfi , ii. 5), or even death ( Shakesp .: Henry IV ., Pt . II ., iii. 2). It was an emblem of incontinence ( Shakesp .: Henry IV ., Pt . II ., iii. 2); soporific qualities were attributed to it ( Marlowe : Jew of Malta , v. 1); it was used in magic ( Nabbes : Microcosm us, iv.), and formed an ingredient in love-potions ( Burton : Anat. of Melan. (ed. 1881), p. 550). 2. Scrip .: Heb. dhudhaim , a pl. word, correctly rendered in the A. V., mandrakes (Genesis xxx. 14, 15, 16; Song of Solomon vii. 13).