| 释义 |
mid·wife
I. \ˈmidˌwīf\ noun
(plural mid·wives \-īvz\)
Etymology: Middle English midwif, from mid with (from Old English) + wif woman, wife — more at meta-, wife
1.
a. : a woman not qualified as a physician who assists other women in childbirth especially habitually or as a means of livelihood
b. : an accoucheur of either sex
2. : one that helps to produce or bring forth something
< thou art the midwife of my woe — Shakespeare >
< what Engels had meant by describing war as the midwife of social change — E.R.Bentley >
II. transitive verb
(midwifed \-īft\ ; or midwived \-īvd\ ; midwifed or midwived ; midwifing \-īfiŋ\ ; or midwiving \-īviŋ\ ; midwifes \-īfs\ ; or midwives \-īvz\)
1. : to assist in bringing (a child) to birth
2. : to assist in producing, bringing forth, or bringing about
< probably the first time in history that a bank midwived a successful biographical novel — Irving Stone > |