Dictionary
Find
in
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Translations

Click to move up the list of words
Midsummer’s Day
midterm
midtown
midway
Midway Islands
Midweek
midweek
Midwest
midwife
midwife toad
midwifery
midwinter
midyear
mien
mifepristone
miff
miffed
Click to move down the list of words
Print Preview
See pronunciation key
Search for "midwife" in all of MSN Encarta
E-mail this entry
Blog about this entry on MSN Spaces
Download the MSN Encarta Right-Click Dictionary

midwife

mid·wife [ míd wf ]


noun  (plural mid·wives [ míd wvz ])
Definition:
 
1. somebody trained to deliver babies: somebody trained to help deliver babies and offer support and advice to pregnant women

2. somebody who helps to create something: somebody or something that assists in bringing something new into existence



transitive verb  (past and past participle mid·wifed or mid·wived [ míd wvd ], present participle mid·wif·ing or mid·wiv·ing [ míd wving ], 3rd person present singular mid·wifes or mid·wives)
Definition:
 
assist in birth of baby: to assist in the delivery of a baby

[13th century. Probably < obsolete mid "with" + wife "woman"]
Advertisement

Also on Encarta
Englishtown: Learn English online
Our Partners
Also on MSN
Encarta Message Boards (© Rubberball/Jupiterimages)
Shopping
© 2009 Microsoft