comforter

[Eng. comfort; -er.] I. Ordinary Language: 1. Of persons: One who comforts, cheers, or consoles; one who affords encouragement or support in time of trouble and distre . "Miserable comforters are ye all." Job xvi. 2. 2. Of things : (1) A knitted woolen scarf, long and narrow. (2) A thick wadded or padded quilt or counterpane; a comfort. II. Theol . & Scrip . (The Comforter): The Holy Ghost, the Third Person of the Trinity (John xvi. 7, .) [PARACLETE.] "My heart, that was heavy and sad, Was made to rejoice and be glad, And peace peace without measure I had, When the Comforter came." Moody & Sankey: Hymns. *com-fort-fül, a . [Eng. comfort ; ful ( l ).] Full of comfort or encouragement; comforting, cheering. com-fort-ing, *con-fort-yng, pr . par ., a. & 8. [COMFORT, v .] A. As present participle : *1. Making strong, strengthening. "And there appeared an angel unto Him from heaven comforting him."- Luke xxii. 43. ( Trench .) 2. Consoling, cheering, encouraging. B. As adj .: Cheering, consoling, encouraging; IMG:content-0263.png:[blocks in formation] "Comforting repose." --Shakesp.: Henry VIII ., v. 1. C. As subst.: The act of strengthening, cheering, or consoling; solace, consolation, support, or encouragement. "Confortyng-alegement, allege once." -Palsgrave . the genus. [SYMPHYTUM.] (1) Common Comfrey: Symphytum offici nale. Its stem is winged above, the leaves, which IMG:content-0264.png:[blocks in formation] are ovate-lan- 1. Flower leaf. 2. Flower. 3. Flower ceolate, very decurrent. The laid open. stem is 2-3 feet high, branched above. The flowers are in pairs, secund, and drooping. The corolla is large yellowish-white, often purple. The plant is frequently found on the banks of rivers or in watery places generally. It flowers in May and June. It was formerly regarded as a vulnerary. Its roots are highly mucilaginous, their taste sweetish with some astringency. The leaves gathered while young may be used as a substitute for spinage, and some people of unrefined taste eat the young shoots after blanching them by forcing them to grow through heaps of earth. Comfrey stewed in sugar, with a small amount of paregoric added, makes a highly prized domestic remedy for coughs and bronchial irritation. (2) Middle Comfrey: Ajuga reptans . (3) Saracen's Comfrey: Senecio saracenicus . (4) Spotted Comfrey: Pulmonaria officinal is , (5) Tuberous Comfrey: Symphytum tuberosum . This is a smaller plant, has a tuberous root-stock, simple stems, only slightly decurrent leaves, the upper ones in pairs.