midwife

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“
Her son had the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck twice, but the midwife was able to handle it, she said.

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Definitions (11)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (5)

  1. noun A person, usually a woman, who is trained to assist women in childbirth. Also called regionally granny, granny woman.
  2. noun 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).
  3. transitive verb To assist in the birth of (a baby).
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Examples (50)

  • "And I have first claim on him, Honor, for I was the first to see him I daresay the midwife was the person to have that pleasure," Honor said with a tinkling laugh. —  Mary Balogh - An Unacceptable Offer
  • One of the reasons a midwife is generally a better choice to attend your hospital birth than an obstetrician is because the midwife is there in the hospital with you during your labor while the obstetrician is not. —  My Strange Mind
  • One such was an nurse-midwife, admittedly with a master's (mistress's?) degree in the subject, so it wasn't just tradition. —  Citizendium, the Citizens' Compendium - Recent changes [en]
  • "Denying passports or questioning the eligibility of an individual solely because the birth certificate is issued by a midwife is an arbitrary practice that has subjected thousands of U.S. citizens to unfair treatment," Ortiz said in a prepared statement. —  The Mex Files
  • He was born on a pile of cocaine and dynamite -- and the midwife was a Trotskyite! —  Top Stories - Google News
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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

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

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Middle English midwife, mydwyfe, midwif, mydwyf, mydewyf, medwyfe, medewife, prob. from Anglo-Saxon *midwif (not recorded), from mid, with, + uīf, wife, woman; cf. Spanish Portuguese comadre, a midwife. from con, from Latin cum, with, + madre, from Latin mater, mother; German beifrau, a midwife's assistant. Cf. also Dutch medehelpen, assist, from mede, with, + helpen, help; German mithelfer, an assistant, from mit, with. + helfer, helper. Owing to the disappearance of the prep, mid, this element in midwife has not been commonly understood, and an etymology based on the Middle English form medewif, taken as from mede, English meed, reward, + wife, woman (as if ‘a woman who serves for pay’), has been in favor. This etymology, which is impossible for other reasons, is not supported even by the Middle English form medewife, which is explainable as a mere variant spelling of midwife.
 

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/ˈmɪdwaɪf/
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