Knitbone

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A coarse, hairy plant with bell-shaped flowers, long traded as a remedy for mending broken bones and bruises
2. Comfrey, the herbaceous plant of the genus Symphytum once believed to help bones and wounds heal quickly
3. An old folk name for comfrey, a leafy herb valued in traditional medicine for supposedly joining fractured bones

Etymology: Knitbone is a plant name built from two plain English words, "knit" and "bone," and the reason for the pairing is in the plant's old use. People brewed its leaves into tea, which they drank in the belief that it helped broken bones heal and fuse back together. The image is of a healing that makes the bone knit, the same verb used for a wound closing or cloth being woven into a single piece. The word is a compound rather than a borrowing, so its meaning is fully transparent: a plant named for its supposed power over bones. Its use as a folk remedy explains the name better than any botanical description could, and the term reflects a time when such plants were chosen for their perceived effects on the body.

Synonyms: comfrey