noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
UK:/mɪdˈwɪfəɹi/
US:/ˈmɪdˌwaɪfəɹi/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:M IH1 D W AY2 F ER0 IY0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The practice and science of being a midwife.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
assisting women at childbirth
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: delivery, obstetrical delivery
3
noun
Meaning 3
the branch of medicine dealing with childbirth and care of the mother
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: obstetrics, OB, tocology
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: medicine, medical specialty
Narrower terms: fetology, foetology, perinatology
History
Etymology
From Middle English medewifry; equivalent to midwife + -ery.
Across languages
Translations
31 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
قَبَالَة
(qabāla)
— the practice and science of being a midwife
Armenian:
մանկաբարձություն
(mankabarjutʻyun)
— the practice and science of being a midwife
Chinese Mandarin:
產科學 /产科学
(chǎnkēxué)
— the practice and science of being a midwife
Chinese Mandarin:
助產術 /助产术
(zhùchǎnshù)
— the practice and science of being a midwife
Czech:
porodnictví
— the practice and science of being a midwife
Dutch:
verloskunde
— the practice and science of being a midwife
Esperanto:
akuŝarto
— the practice and science of being a midwife
Finnish:
kätilöys
— the practice and science of being a midwife
French:
obstétrique
— the practice and science of being a midwife
West-Frisian:
kreamkunde
— the practice and science of being a midwife
German:
Geburtshilfe
— the practice and science of being a midwife
Ancient Greek:
μαιεία
(maieía)
— the practice and science of being a midwife
Indonesian:
kebidanan
— the practice and science of being a midwife
Irish:
cnáimhseachas
— the practice and science of being a midwife
Japanese:
産科学
(sankagaku)
— the practice and science of being a midwife
Korean:
산과학
(san'gwahak)
— the practice and science of being a midwife
Malay:
perbidanan
— the practice and science of being a midwife
Nepali:
सुँडिनी गर्ने
(sũḍinī garne)
— the practice and science of being a midwife
Nepali:
सुँडेनी गर्ने
(sũḍenī garne)
— the practice and science of being a midwife
Polish:
akuszeria
— the practice and science of being a midwife
Polish:
akuszerstwo
— the practice and science of being a midwife
Polish:
położnictwo
— the practice and science of being a midwife
Portuguese:
partejamento
— the practice and science of being a midwife
Romanian:
moșit
— the practice and science of being a midwife
Russian:
акуше́рство
(akušérstvo)
— the practice and science of being a midwife
Russian:
родовспоможе́ние
(rodovspomožénije)
— the practice and science of being a midwife
Spanish:
partería
— the practice and science of being a midwife
Swahili:
ukunga
— the practice and science of being a midwife
Tibetan:
སྐྱེ་གཡོག་ལས་ཀ
(skye g.yog las ka)
— the practice and science of being a midwife
Vietnamese:
sản khoa học
— the practice and science of being a midwife
Welsh:
bydwreigiaeth
— the practice and science of being a midwife
