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The Learning Kingdom's Cool Word of the Day for April 5, 1999
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midwife [n., v. MID-wyf]
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Someone who assists a woman giving birth to a child is a midwife, the
act of doing so is called midwifery [mid-WIF-ur-ee], and the verb form
is "to act as a midwife." The word is also used in a more general
sense, meaning to assist in bringing about some goal: "The president
was midwife to the peace talks."
The usual sense of "mid" is "between or among." Is the midwife
someone who is between the mother and the child? Actually, the first
syllable comes from the Old English mid (together with), source of the
modern German mit (with) and Dutch met (with). A midwife is someone
who stays with the woman who will give birth.
Most midwives are women, so it makes sense that the second part,
-wife, comes from the Old English wif (woman), which did not carry the
modern implication of being married.
In the southern states of the US, a midwife might be called a granny.
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