/ˌmʌltɪˈɡravᵻdiː/, U.S. /ˈˌməltiˈɡrævədi/, /ˈˌməltiˈɡrævəˌdaɪ/see also multi- comb. form., multigravidas.multigravidan.
/ˌmʌltɪˈɡravᵻdə/, U.S. /ˌməltiˈɡrævədə/; see also multi- comb. form./ˌmʌltɪˈɡravᵻdiː/, U.S. /ˈˌməltiˈɡrævədi/, /ˈˌməltiˈɡrævəˌdaɪ/see also multi- comb. form., multigravidas. Obstetrics and Veterinary Medicine.
Originally: a woman who has been pregnant more than once, or many times. Later: a pregnant woman or female animal that has had at least one previous pregnancy (or at least two).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > pregnancy or gestation > [noun] > woman
pregnant1654
expectant mother1806
primigravida1884
multigravida1890
mother-to-be1899
secundigravida1903
parturient1955
primigravid1981
1890 J. S. Billings National Med. Dict. II. 175/1 Multigravida, a woman who has been pregnant more than once.
1900 W. A. N. Dorland Amer. Illustr. Med. Dict. 399/2 Multigravida, a woman who has often been pregnant.
1938 A. L. Mudaliar Clin. Obstetr. ii. v. 30 Marked changes take place in the breasts consequent upon pregnancy, and such changes are more obvious in primigravidæ than in multigravidæ.
1958 Observer 3 Aug. 10/5 Nice young upper-middle-class multigravida harassed by children.
1959 Amer. Jrnl. Obstetr. & Gynecol. 77 104 In multigravidas there is practically no distress caused by difficult labor or head pressure in the second stage.
1977 Brit. Jrnl. Obstetr. & Gynaecol. 84 828 A means of detecting placental insufficiency in multigravidae.
1981 Jrnl. Med. Primatol. 10 164 Eight years of birth records from a group of bonnet macaques (Macaca radiata) were used to determine if primagravida exhibited higher infant loss than multigravida.
1992 J. Mitford Amer. Way of Birth iii. v. 101 We had drug addicts, diabetics; we had grand multigravidas, meaning women who have had thirteen, sixteen, seventeen pregnancies.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1890