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n. pl. mid·wives (-wīvz′) 1. A person, usually a woman, who is trained to assist women in childbirth. 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, mid·wif·ing, mid·wifes or mid·wived (-wīvd′) or mid·wiv·ing (-wī′vĭng) or mid·wives (-wīvz′) 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). [Middle English midwif : probably mid, with (from Old English; see me-2 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots) + wif, woman (from Old English wīf; see WIFE).] Word History: The word midwife was formed in Middle English from two elements, mid and wife. At first glance, the meaning of wife would would seem to be clear. However, wife often meant simply "woman" in general in Middle English, not specifically "female spouse" as it most often does in Modern English. The other element in midwife, the prefix mid-, is probably the Middle English preposition and adverb mid, meaning "together with." Thus a midwife was literally a "with-woman"—that is, "a woman who is with another woman and assists her in giving birth." The etymology of obstetric is even more descriptive of a midwife's role. Its Latin source obstetrīx, "a midwife," is formed 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 as it was being born. |
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