root doctor

American  

noun

Chiefly Southern U.S.

1. herb doctor.

---

Etymology

Origin of root doctor

An Americanism dating back to 1815–25

Example Sentences

Multiple victims require interventions by people from a variety of faith backgrounds: a Pentecostal preacher, a Baptist minister, a traditional healer called a root doctor, a former nun — and also a Catholic priest.

From Seattle Times

Green opened up his narrative to include many different religious perspectives, including those of a Pentecostal preacher, a root doctor and a Baptist clergyman.

From Los Angeles Times

Mama Z is the local root doctor in Money, Miss., the setting for much of the novel.

From Los Angeles Times

Lots of doctors in the early 1900s, really up until the 1930s, still relied on natural remedies, and many of them cited formulas, or protocols from the local root doctor.

From Salon

In his 1994 autobiography “Under a Hoodoo Moon,” he wrote, “In the 1840s and 1850s, one New Orleans root doctor was preeminent in the city for the awe in which he was held by the poor and the fear and notoriety he inspired among the rich. Known variously as John Montaigne, Bayou John, and most often Dr. John, he was a figure larger than life.”

From Washington Post