folk medicine

noun

: traditional medicine as practiced nonprofessionally especially by people isolated from modern medical services and usually involving the use of plant-derived remedies on an empirical basis

Examples of folk medicine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

It has been used in folk medicine to support digestion, reduce fevers and headaches, relieve insect bites, and lower high blood pressure. —Sherri Gordon, Health, 8 Dec. 2025

In future work, the team hopes to examine the geographic spread of these beliefs using the original school records from the districts that participated in the Irish Folklore Commission’s project to trace how folk medicine traveled, clustered, or faded away. —Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 4 Dec. 2025

Wound healing: Ayurveda and Indian folk medicine traditionally use ghee to heal wounds. —Amy Brownstein, Verywell Health, 17 Sep. 2025

Horehound candy has origins going back centuries in folk medicine, when the horehound plant was used to brew teas and used as remedies for various throat and digestive issues. —Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 11 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1878, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for folk medicine

• biomedicine
• telemedicine

Kids Definition

folk medicine

noun

: traditional medicine that usually involves the use of plant-based remedies especially by people isolated from modern medical services

Medical Definition

folk medicine

noun

ˈfōk- 

: traditional medicine as practiced especially by people isolated from modern medical services and usually involving the use of plant-derived remedies on an empirical basis compare home remedy