midwife

noun mid·wife \ ˈmid-ˌwīf \

Updated on: 22 Apr 2018

Definition of midwife

1 : a person who assists women in childbirth — compare nurse-midwife

2 : one that helps to produce or bring forth something

See midwife defined for English-language learners

See midwife defined for kids

Examples of midwife in a Sentence

a trained and certified midwife

Recent Examples of midwife from the Web

And the state, not the free market, served as midwife to the new world order.

— heather souvaine horn, The New Republic, "A System in Denial," 16 Apr. 2018
Meyers shared a photo of the New York Fire Department personnel who arrived and thanked them, as well as the New York Police Department, their midwife, family members and their building's doorman.

— lisa respers france, CNN, "Seth Meyers' son born in apartment lobby," 10 Apr. 2018
But after being in labor for over 20 hours at home, Joy-Anna’s midwife determined the baby was breech.

— aurelie corinthios, PEOPLE.com, "Emergency C-Sections, Days-Long Labor and Breech Babies: The Most Complicated Duggar Births," 20 Mar. 2018
Less crude than earlier books, there are still plenty of adult allusions to keep parents amused. Born in 1961, Mr. Griffiths was raised in Melbourne by his midwife mother and industrial chemist father.

— clarissa sebag-montefiore, New York Times, "Andy Griffiths, the Down-Under Kids’ Author Known for His Butt Jokes, Now Builds and Builds on His Hit ‘Treehouse’ Series," 9 Mar. 2018
Kelly chose Sophia Williams, a doula, midwife and photographer, for a more traditional maternity photo session with her 2-year-old daughter, Sullivan, and husband, Brendon, as well as photographing the birth itself.

— tony bravo, San Francisco Chronicle, "Baby bump shoots, popularized by Beyoncé, are big with Bay Area moms," 27 Mar. 2018
As a midwife, Emily Dial had witnessed plenty of births.

— melanie dadourian, Fox News, "Stunning pics of midwife mom delivering her own baby by C-section," 15 Mar. 2018
Actress Leonie Elliott will play midwife Lucille Anderson who joins the staff of Nonnatus House this season.

— caroline hallemann, Town & Country, "Call the Midwife," 12 Mar. 2018
The seventh season kicks off with a two-hour premiere in which a severe winter is causing extra problems for the midwives of London’s East End.

— ellen gray, Philly.com, "TV picks: 'Roseanne,' 'Call the Midwife,' 'One Strange Rock,' 'Billions' and more," 21 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'midwife.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of midwife

Middle English midwif, from mid with (from Old English) + wif woman

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

midwife

verb

Definition of midwife

midwifed play \-ˌwīft\ or midwived play \-ˌwīvd\; midwifing play \-ˌwī-fiŋ\ or midwiving play \-ˌwī-viŋ\

transitive verb

: to assist in producing, bringing forth, or bringing about

First Known Use of midwife

1638

MIDWIFE Defined for English Language Learners

midwife

noun

Definition of midwife for English Language Learners

: a person (usually a woman) who helps a woman when she is giving birth to a child

MIDWIFE Defined for Kids

midwife

noun mid·wife \ ˈmid-ˌwīf \

Definition of midwife for Students

plural midwives

: a woman who helps other women during childbirth

Medical Dictionary

midwife

noun mid·wife \ ˈmid-ˌwīf \

medical Definition of midwife

: a person who assists women in childbirth — see nurse-midwife

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See words that rhyme with midwife Spanish Central: Translation of midwife Nglish: Translation of midwife for Spanish speakers

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midwife

Definition of midwife

Examples of midwife in a Sentence

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Origin and Etymology of midwife

midwife

Definition of midwife

First Known Use of midwife

MIDWIFE Defined for English Language Learners

midwife

Definition of midwife for English Language Learners

MIDWIFE Defined for Kids

midwife

Definition of midwife for Students

Medical Dictionary

midwife

medical Definition of midwife

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