folk medicine

American  

noun

1. health practices arising from superstition, cultural traditions, or empirical use of native remedies, especially food substances.

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folk medicine British  

noun

1. the traditional art of medicine as practised among rustic communities and primitive peoples, consisting typically of the use of herbal remedies, fruits and vegetables thought to have healing power, etc

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Etymology

Origin of folk medicine

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

“It’s the whole community-based element of folk medicine that is so important,” said Bairbre Ní Fhloinn, an associate professor of Irish folklore at University College Dublin.

From New York Times • Dec. 20, 2021

Soviet interest in animal-based folk medicine and the USSR's own practice of farming deer for medicinal ingredients soon "provided modern and scientific sanction for the Chinese fascination with faunal drugs," Chee writes.

From Salon • Jul. 16, 2021

Meanwhile, Leonie’s mother, Mam, lies bedridden, slowly succumbing to cancer; her commitment to voodoo practices and folk medicine are the only thing keeping her tethered to life.

From Slate • Sep. 18, 2017

They’re capitalizing on the demand for rhino horn, smuggled mostly to China and Vietnam, where it’s carved into tchotchkes and art and sold for use in folk medicine.

From National Geographic • Aug. 20, 2017

The curious directions for uncoiling the snake have parallels in European folk medicine.

From The Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees Seventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1885-1886, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1891, pages 301-398 by Mooney, James