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

Despite its widespread rejection in professional medical circles, sassafras remained a staple of household folk medicine in Appalachia and a cornerstone of herbalism in Black and Indigenous communities. —Kari Traylor, JSTOR Daily, 30 Apr. 2026

Oregano has been used in folk medicine to treat a variety of other ailments, including asthma, indigestion, stomach issues, and general infections, as well as blood pressure.11 However, clinical research is needed to better understand its impact. —Angelica Bottaro, Verywell Health, 20 Apr. 2026

The idea of drinking mushroom tea might not initially sound appealing, but chaga has been used in folk medicine for hundreds of years. —Bestreviews, Mercury News, 5 Feb. 2026

Part of what makes leeches so effective at blood-sucking is that their saliva has uniquely anesthetic and anticoagulant properties, so they’ve been used for thousands of years for folk medicines in Asia and Eastern Europe. —Blair Braverman, Outside, 21 Jan. 2026

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