shinleaf

[shin-leef]

noun

plural

shinleaves 

1. a North American plant, Pyrola elliptica, having leaves used formerly for shinplasters.

2. any plant of the genus Pyrola.

shinleaf

/ ˈʃɪnˌliːf /

noun

1. the usual US name for wintergreen

Word History and Origins

Origin of shinleaf¹

An Americanism dating back to 1810–20; shin ¹ + leaf

Example Sentences

These pretty plants are called "shinleaf," because the leaves of some of the species were used by the English peasantry as plasters which they applied to bruises or sores.

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He observed among the wild plants that she had gathered the mottled leaves and waxy blossoms of the pipsissewa and its cousin the shinleaf.

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