comfrey

American

[kuhm-free] / ˈkʌm fri /

noun

plural

comfreys

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

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Applying comfrey to the skin however is perfectly safe.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 4, 2023

For a very quick and not so offensive fertilizer, you can make up small batches of fresh comfrey fertilizer in your kitchen.

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

Another interesting trait of comfrey is that in addition to producing vitamin C and all of the other plant based vitamins, it is the only land-based plant that produces vitamin B-12.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 4, 2023

Mother dressed the leg in mullein and comfrey salve, her own recipe.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

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