midwife
American Heritage Dictionary:
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mid·wife
(mĭd'wīf') 
n., pl., -wives (-wīvz').
n., pl., -wives (-wīvz').
- A person, usually a woman, who is trained to assist women in childbirth. Also called regionally granny, granny woman.
- 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).
- To assist in the birth of (a baby).
- To assist in bringing forth or about: "Washington's efforts to midwife a Mideast settlement" (Newsweek).
[Middle English midwif : probably mid, with (from Old English) + wif, woman (from Old English wīf).]
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 obstetrīx, "a midwife," from the verb obstāre, "to stand in front of," and the feminine suffix -trīx; the obstetrīx would thus literally stand in front of the baby.
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A person who serves as an attendant at childbirth but is not a physician. Some midwives (called certified nurse midwives) are trained in university programs, which usually require previous education in nursing; others (called lay midwives) learn their skills through apprenticeship.
Word Tutor:
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midwives
IN BRIEF: n. - Women skilled in aiding the delivery of babies..
Poets are the mad midwives to reality
— Dan Simmons. Source: Hyperion, Page: 192
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Mosby's Dental Dictionary:
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midwife
n
1. in traditional use, a (female) person who assists women in childbirth. 2. a nurse practitioner trained and experienced in assisting women in childbirth.
Random House Word Menu:
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categories related to 'midwife'
- Practitioners, Patients, and Facilities - midwife: nonphysician who provides assistance to women during labor and childbirth, sometimes at home
- Pregnancy and Birth - midwife: woman who assists mother during childbirth
- Occupations and Job Titles
See crossword solutions for the clue Translations:
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Midwife
Dansk (Danish)
n. - jordemoder
v. tr. - fungere som jordemoder
Nederlands (Dutch)
vroedvrouw, verloskundige, iemand die helpt bij productie, bij productie/geboorte helpen
Français (French)
n. - (Méd) sage-femme, accoucheur
v. tr. - aider lors d'un accouchement, produire (qch) de nouveau
Deutsch (German)
n. - Hebamme, Geburtshelferin
v. - entbinden, Hebammendienste leisten
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - μαμή, μαία
Português (Portuguese)
n. - parteira (f), comadre (f) (bras.)
Español (Spanish)
n. - comadrona, partera
v. tr. - partear, atender el parto
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - barnmorska
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
助产士, 接生婆, 助胎儿出生, 给...催生, 促成...的产生
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 助產士, 接生婆
v. tr. - 助胎兒出生, 給...催生, 促成...的產生
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 아이를 받아 주는 사람
v. tr. - (매개인을) 고용하다
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) القابله, المولدة
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - מיילדת
v. tr. - יילדה (תינוק), יצר או עזר ליצור דבר חדש
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American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: Health
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and
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