midwife
midwife Lexical Profile
midwife Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A trained healthcare professional who assists women during pregnancy, labor, childbirth, and the postpartum period.
"The certified nurse midwife stayed by the mother's side throughout the entire delivery."
A person or thing that helps bring something new into existence or facilitates a complex development.
"The diplomat acted as a patient midwife to the historic peace agreement."
• verb
To assist a woman in childbirth or deliver a baby as a midwife.
"She midwifed hundreds of rural births over her forty-year career."
To help bring a new project, idea, or creation into existence.
"The senior editor helped midwife the author's sprawling manuscript into a cohesive novel."
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English midwif, formed from the archaic Old English preposition mid ('with') and wif ('woman'), literally meaning 'a woman who is with (the mother at childbirth)'.