Midwife

7 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Midwife \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.


     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Midwife \Mid"wife`\, v. t.
     To assist in childbirth.
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Midwife \Mid"wife`\, v. i.
     To perform the office of midwife.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  midwife
       n : a woman skilled in aiding the delivery of babies [syn: {accoucheuse}]
       [also: {midwives} (pl)]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  44 Moby Thesaurus words for "midwife":
     Charlie McCarthy, agent, ancilla, appliance, bonesetter,
     chiropractor, contrivance, creature, device, dummy, dupe,
     go-between, handmaid, handmaiden, healer, homeopath, homeopathist,
     implement, instrument, interagent, intermediary, intermediate,
     intermedium, lever, mechanism, mediator, medic, medium, minion,
     oculist, optometrist, organ, osteopath, pawn, plaything, puppet,
     servant, slave, stooge, therapeutist, therapist, tool, toy,
     vehicle
  
  

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:

  Midwife
     The two midwives mentioned in Ex. 1:15 were probably the
     superintendents of the whole class.
     

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  MIDWIFE, med. jur. A woman who practices midwifery; a woman who pursues the 
  business of an account. 
       2. A midwife is required to perform the business she undertakes with 
  proper skill, and if she be guilty of any mala praxis, (q.v.) she is liable 
  to an action or an indictment for the misdemeanor. Vide Vin. Ab. Physician; 
  Com. Dig. Physician; 8 East, R. 348; 2 Wils. R. 359; 4 C. & P. 398; S. C. 19 
  E. C. L. R. 440; 4 C. & P. 407, n. a; 1 Chit. Pr. 43; 2 Russ. Cr. 288.