bonesetter

American  

[bohn-set-er] / ˈboʊnˌsɛt ər /

noun

1. a person who treats or sets fractures, broken or dislocated bones, or the like, especially one who is not a regular physician or surgeon; healer.

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bonesetter British  

/ ˈbəʊnˌsɛtə /

noun

1. a person who sets broken or dislocated bones, esp one who has no formal medical qualifications

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Etymology

Origin of bonesetter

late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; see origin at bone, setter

Example Sentences

A boy playing in the yard fell and broke his arm; his mother rushed him not to a doctor but to a kuesero, a bonesetter with no formal training.

From Time Magazine Archive

A talented bonesetter, he performed 18,000 operations in 14 years, mostly on feudists, miners, railroad men.

From Time Magazine Archive

He went on to eke out an existence as a nomadic marketplace storyteller, scribe and sometime bonesetter, but he somehow had contrived to send his son to schools in Hue and Saigon.

From Time Magazine Archive

Mrs. Mapp, commonly termed "Crazy Sally," who had repute as a bonesetter, received from the town of Epsom the offer of an annuity of one hundred pounds sterling if she would remain in that neighborhood.

From Women of England by James, Bartlett Burleigh

Our ancestors listened with awe and obedience to the warnings and behests of the medicine man, bloodletter, bonesetter, family doctor.

From Civics and Health by Allen, William H.