%drake%

n. [ AS. draca dragon, L. draco. See Dragon. ] 1. A dragon. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Beowulf resolves to kill the drake. J. A. Harrison (Beowulf). [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A small piece of artillery. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Two or three shots, made at them by a couple of drakes, made them stagger. Clarendon. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. dravik, W. drewg, darnel, cockle, etc. ] Wild oats, brome grass, or darnel grass; -- called also drawk, dravick, and drank. [ Prov. Eng. ] Dr. Prior. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A flat stone so thrown along the surface of water as to skip from point to point before it sinks; also, the sport of so throwing stones; -- sometimes called ducks and drakes. [ 1913 Webster ]

Internal earthquakes, that, not content with one throe, run along spasmodically, like boys playing at what is called drakestone. De Quincey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A mythical monster of the early Anglo-Saxon literature; a dragon. W. Spalding. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. f&ymacr_;rdraca; f&ymacr_;r fire + draca a dragon. See Fire, and Drake a dragon. ] [ Obs. ] 1. A fiery dragon. Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A fiery meteor; an ignis fatuus; a rocket. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A worker at a furnace or fire. B. Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

And shrieks like mandrakes, torn out of the earth,
That living mortals, hearing them, run mad. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The mandrake of Scripture was perhaps the same plant, but proof is wanting. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) The May apple (Podophyllum peltatum). See May apple under May, and Podophyllum. [ U.S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The root of the mandrake plant; used medicinally or as a narcotic; as a substance it is also called mandrake. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

(Zool.) The pewit gull. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Sheld + drake. ] 1. (Zool.) Any one of several species of large Old World ducks of the genus Tadorna and allied genera, especially the European and Asiatic species. (Tadorna cornuta syn. Tadorna tadorna), which somewhat resembles a goose in form and habit, but breeds in burrows. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ It has the head and neck greenish black, the breast, sides, and forward part of the back brown, the shoulders and middle of belly black, the speculum green, and the bill and frontal bright red. Called also shelduck, shellduck, sheldfowl, skeelduck, bergander, burrow duck, and links goose. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The Australian sheldrake (Tadorna radja) has the head, neck, breast, flanks, and wing coverts white, the upper part of the back and a band on the breast deep chestnut, and the back and tail black. The chestnut sheldrake of Australia (Casarca tadornoides) is varied with black and chestnut, and has a dark green head and neck. The ruddy sheldrake, or Braminy duck (Casarca rutila), and the white-winged sheldrake (Casarca leucoptera), are related Asiatic species. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Any one of the American mergansers. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The name is also loosely applied to other ducks, as the canvasback, and the shoveler. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) A sheldrake. [ 1913 Webster ]