midwife
pronunciation
How to pronounce midwife in British English:
UK [ˈmɪdwaɪf]
How to pronounce midwife in American English:
US [ˈmɪdwaɪf]
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- Noun:
- a woman skilled in aiding the delivery of babies
Word Origin
- midwife
- midwife: [14] A midwife is etymologically a ‘with-woman’. The mid- element represents the long extinct preposition mid ‘with’ (its Germanic relatives are still alive and well: German mit, Dutch met, and Swedish and Danish med). Wife preserves the original meaning of Old English wīf, ‘woman’. The idea underlying the word is that a midwife is ‘with’ a woman giving birth.
- midwife (n.)
- c. 1300, "woman assisting," literally "woman who is 'with' " (the mother at birth), from Middle English mid "with" (see mid) + wif "woman" (see wife). Cognate with German Beifrau.
Example
- 1. What licensure is required to become a nurse midwife ?
- 2. Once they left , I called my midwife .
- 3. Finally , my midwife arrived , along with her daughter .
- 4. I called my midwife , who could get to our place in 20 minutes .
- 5. If you 're pregnant or breastfeeding and interested in taking probiotics , talk to your doctor or midwife .