midwife

mid·wife  (mdwf)

n. pl. mid·wives (-wvz)

1. A person, usually a woman, who is trained to assist women in childbirth. Also called regionally granny, granny woman.

2. One who assists in or takes a part in bringing about a result: "In the Renaissance, artists and writers start to serve as midwives of fame" (Carlin Romano).

tr.v. mid·wifed or mid·wived (-wvd), mid·wif·ing or mid·wiv·ing (-wvng), mid·wifes or mid·wives (-wvz)

1. To assist in the birth of (a baby).

2. To assist in bringing forth or about: "Washington's efforts to midwife a Mideast settlement" (Newsweek).

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[Middle English midwif : probably mid, with (from Old English; see me-² in Indo-European roots) + wif, woman (from Old English wf).]

Word History: The word midwife is the sort of word whose etymology seems perfectly clear until one tries to figure it out. Wife would seem to refer to the woman giving birth, who is usually a wife, but mid ? A knowledge of older senses of words helps us with this puzzle. Wife in its earlier history meant "woman," as it still did when the compound midwife was formed in Middle English (first recorded around 1300). Mid is probably a preposition, meaning "together with." Thus a midwife was literally a "with woman" or "a woman who assists other women in childbirth." Even though obstetrics has been rather resistant to midwifery until fairly recently, the etymology of obstetric is rather similar, going back to the Latin word obstetrx, "a midwife," from the verb obstre, "to stand in front of," and the feminine suffix -trx; the obstetrx would thus literally stand in front of the baby.

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midwife [ˈmɪdˌwaɪf]

n pl -wives [-ˌwaɪvz]

(Medicine / Gynaecology & Obstetrics) a person qualified to deliver babies and to care for women before, during, and after childbirth

[from Old English mid with + wif woman]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

midwife - a woman skilled in aiding the delivery of babies accoucheuse nurse - one skilled in caring for young children or the sick (usually under the supervision of a physician)

Translations

midwife [ˈmɪdwaɪf] N (midwives (pl)) → comadrona f, partera f

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midwife [ˈmɪdwaɪf] [midwives] [ˈmɪdwaɪvz] (pl) n → sage-femme f
She's a midwife → Elle est sage-femme.

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midwife

n pl <-wives> → Hebamme f

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midwife [ˈmɪdˌwaɪf] n (-wives (pl)) → ostetrica

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midwife [ˈmɪdˌwaɪf] n (-wives (pl)) → ostetrica

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midwife

n midwife [ˈmidwaif]

a person (usually a trained nurse) who helps at the birth of children. vroedvrou قابِلَه، مُوَلِّدَه акушерка porodní asistentka jordemor die Hebamme μαία comadrona, partera, matrona ämmaemand ماما kätilö sage-femme מְיָלֶדֶת दाई primalja bába bidan ljósmóðir levatrice, ostetrica 助産婦 산파 akušerė, pribuvėja vecmāte, akušiere bidan vroedvrouw jordmor położna, akuszerka parteira moaşă акушерка pôrodná asistentka babica babica barnmorska นางพยาบาลผดุงครรภ์ ebe 助產士 акушерка; повитуха قابلہ bà đỡ 助产士

n midˈwifery [midˈwi-, (American ) ˈmidwai-]

vroedvrouery قِبالَه، مِهْنَة التَّوْليد акушерство porodnictví fødselshjælp die Geburtshilfe μαιευτική obstetricia sünnitusabi مامایی synnytysoppi obstétrique מְיַלדות सूतिकर्म, दाई का काम, धात्री-विद्या, प्रसूति-विद्या, प्रसूति-तन्त्र primateljstvo bábáskodás, bábaság kebidanan fæðingarhjálp ostetricia 助産術 조산술 akušerija akušērija perbidanan verloskunde fødselshjelp położnictwo obstretícia moşit; obstre­tică акушерство pôrodníctvo babištvo rad babice förlossningskonst, -hjälp, obstetrik การผดุงครรภ์ ebelik 接生 акушерство قبالت thuật đỡ đẻ 接生

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midwife → قَابِلة porodní asistentka jordemoder Hebamme μαία comadrona, partera kätilö sage-femme babica ostetrica 助産婦 산파 verloskundige jordmor położna parteira акушерка barnmorska นางพยาบาลผดุงครรภ์ ebe bà đỡ 助产士