Dictionary entry

Midwife

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Mid″wife′ (?), n.; pl.Midwives (#). [OE. midwif, fr. AS. mid with (akin to Gr. �) + � woman, wife. Properly, the woman or wife who is attendant upon a woman in childbirth. See Meta-, and Wife.] A woman who assists other women in childbirth; a female practitioner of the obstetric art.