comfrey

American

[kuhm-free] / ˈkʌm fri /

noun

any coarse Eurasian plant belonging to the genus Symphytum, of the borage family, as the widely cultivated S. officinale, having hairy, lance-shaped leaves and drooping clusters of small, white, rose-colored, or purplish flowers.

comfrey British

/ ˈkʌmfrɪ /

noun

any hairy Eurasian boraginaceous plant of the genus Symphytum, having blue, purplish-pink, or white flowers

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

comfreys

plural

Etymology

Origin of comfrey

1275–1325; Middle English cumfirie, conferye < Anglo-French cumfirie, Old French confire < Medieval Latin *confervia for Latin conferva conferva

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

comfrey

The easiest way of all to use comfrey is to spread cut leaves on the soil alongside growing plants.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 4, 2023

A chemical analysis of liquid comfrey fertilizer showed that it contained similar amounts of nutrients to those found in the popular blue soluble fertilizers.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 4, 2023

Once your comfrey becomes established, you’ll have a lifetime source of natural fertilizer.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 4, 2023

Turns out, comfrey is a viable source of homegrown fertilizer.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 24, 2022

“Poultice. With arnica for the bruising and comfrey for the broken bone.”

From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023