English
folk medicine
From folk (“believed or transmitted by the common people; not academically correct or rigorous”) + medicine.
A compound of folk ‘believed or transmitted by the common people’ + medicine
Proto-Germanic *fulką ‘troop, army’
Proto-West Germanic *folk ‘military, army, troop’
Old English folc ‘the people, especially the common people’
Middle English folk ‘people, folk’
English folk
Latin medeor ‘heal’
…
Latin medicīna ‘the healing art’
Old French medecine ‘medicine’
Middle French medicine
Middle English medicin
English medicine
Today it means
noun Traditional medical practices developed and used by non-physicians, typically involving customary homespun techniques and medicinal remedies derived from native plants.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / folk medicine