noun
simple
A medicinal herb or remedy made from a single plant.
The old herbal lists each simple and its medicinal uses.
Etymology
The Latin adjective means single or not compounded. A medicinal simple is one herb or a remedy made from it, rather than a mixture.
More examples
- The healer prepared a simple from a single plant.
- An apothecary's garden supplied simples for traditional remedies.
- The manuscript distinguishes a simple from a mixture of several herbs.
Forms
simple · simples
Similar words
- herb
- Any useful or aromatic plant, not specifically a single-plant remedy.
- botanical
- A botanical is a plant-derived preparation; a simple traditionally uses one medicinal plant.