Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Midwife

Midwife , noun

[Old English midwif, from Anglo-Saxon mid with (akin to Greek {not transcribed}) + {not transcribed} woman, wife. Properly, the woman or wife who is attendant upon a woman in childbirth. See Meta-, and Wife.]

A woman who assists other women in childbirth; a female practitioner of the obstetric art.

Midwife , transitive verb

To assist in childbirth.

Midwife , intransitive verb

To perform the office of midwife.