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Glite Dictionary
healing herb

healing herb

1 3.4
A plant whose leaves are used as medicine, in tea, or in food
  • noun
  • /ˈhiːlɪŋ hɜrb/
translation icon : hierba medicinal
  • She often prefers to treat her ailments with healing herbs instead of relying on conventional medicine.

Examples

  • The difference between a healing herb and a poison herb is only a matter of use and quantity.

    Blog text (19)

  • When Mary asked why Bernadette embarked on such expeditions, Enid said, "Healing herbs and roots."

    Fiction book (1990)

  • All of us devoted to the Lady learn about healing herbs, the movement of the stars telling when to plant and reap.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Fortunately, she hadn't had much occasion to use her healing herbs so far.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • She'd been his father's apprentice, and as a child, young Joe Billy had followed them on their searches for healing herbs.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • He smelled the harsh, slightly spicy scent of healing herbs.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • They brought healing herbs to this area long ago so that the plants would be established and plentiful when their descendants arrived" (Duvall 2000, 53).

    Academic text (2011)

  • Many people believe that healing herbs can improve overall health and well-being.

  • The local market features a wide variety of healing herbs, including chamomile and peppermint.

Synonyms

herb
vshealing herb
118 1.0

A plant used to add flavor to food or to make medicine

focuses on medicinal leaves often used as tea or in salads
simple
vshealing herb
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A plant used in herbal medicine

is used both for medicine and as food or tea

Antonyms

poisonous plant
2 3.5

A plant that can be deadly if you touch it or eat it

How Medicinal

healing herb
1 3.4
herb
118 1.0

Surface Forms

healing herb singular
healing herbs plural

Morphology

healing + herb

The meaning 'a plant used for medicinal purposes' is directly derivable from combining 'healing' (able to cure or restore health) with 'herb' (a plant used for flavor, scent, or medicine). This straightforward adjective + noun composition follows common cross‑linguistic patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Healing herb comes from the long practice of using certain herbs to make teas or mash into a paste to help people feel better. People called a plant that helped 'a healing herb', so today the phrase means a plant used for medicine.