midwife
gb/mˈɪdwˌaɪf/ us/mˈɪdwˌaɪf/
B1
Anglais
~ 8500
Sens
0 sens
Nom
B1
entity
1
health professional for childbirth care
A trained health worker who helps women during pregnancy and when they give birth, and who delivers babies.
Schéma d’usage :
a midwife helps [someone] give birth
Erreur fréquente :
Learners sometimes confuse a 'midwife' with an 'obstetrician'. An obstetrician is a medical doctor who specializes in pregnancy and childbirth, while a midwife is a trained professional who may or may not be a doctor. Learners also often misspell the plural: it is 'midwives', not 'midwifes'.
Synonymes
birth attendant (Broad term for someone present to assist at a birth; less specific about training or medical role than 'midwife'.)
|
obstetrician (A medical doctor who specializes in pregnancy and childbirth; more clinical and hospital-based than most midwives.)
Collocations
trained midwife
|qualified midwife
|community midwife
|midwife-led unit
|midwife-assisted birth
|consultant midwife
Thèmes
health
|family
|professions
|body
Exemples
- The midwife stayed with her throughout labor and coached her breathing.
- She chose to have her baby at home with a registered midwife.
- The hospital has a midwife-led unit for low-risk pregnancies.
- After the birth, the midwife visited the family at home to check on the baby.
Exemples pédagogiques
- The midwife helped the woman during the birth.
- I talked to the midwife about my pregnancy.
- A midwife delivered their baby last night.
- The midwife checked the baby and said he was healthy.
Verbe
B2
action
2
to assist in childbirth as midwife
To help a woman give birth when you are working as a midwife.
Schéma d’usage :
to midwife [someone] / to midwife [a birth]
Erreur fréquente :
Learners often do not realize that 'midwife' can be used as a verb. It is mainly used in professional or descriptive contexts and is less common in everyday conversation than the noun.
Synonymes
deliver (Common medical verb meaning to help a woman give birth; does not specifically state that the person is a midwife.)
Collocations
midwife a birth
|midwife a home delivery
|midwifed by a nurse
|midwife dozens of babies
Thèmes
health
|family
|body
Exemples
- She has midwifed more than three hundred births in rural clinics.
- The baby was midwifed by a local nurse who had special training.
- They decided to have the child midwifed at home rather than in the hospital.
Exemples pédagogiques
- She midwifed many babies in that village.
- The baby was midwifed at home.
- A young nurse midwifed the birth.
- He wants to learn how to midwife safe home births.
Verbe
formal
C1
action
3
to help bring something into being
To help an idea, plan, or project start and grow, especially in the early and difficult stages.
Schéma d’usage :
to midwife [a project / an agreement / a reform]
Erreur fréquente :
Learners may misunderstand this figurative use and think it always refers to babies. In business or political news, 'to midwife a deal' or 'to midwife reforms' means to help create or start them, not anything related to giving birth to a child.
Synonymes
facilitate (More general and common; stresses making something easier, without the birth-related metaphor.)
|
nurture (Emphasizes caring for something so it can grow over time; slightly more emotional and less technical than 'midwife'.)
Antonymes
block (Means to stop something from starting or happening; the opposite of helping it come into existence.)
Collocations
midwife a deal
|midwife a peace agreement
|midwife a new institution
|midwife reform
|midwife a transition
Thèmes
business
|politics
|projects
|work
Exemples
- The minister helped midwife the peace talks that ended the conflict.
- Several NGOs midwifed the creation of the new health program.
- Her foundation midwifed many of the city’s most important cultural projects.
- A coalition of activists midwifed the transition to democratic rule.
Exemples pédagogiques
- The group midwifed a new school project.
- He midwifed the deal between the two companies.
- Many people worked to midwife the peace agreement.
- The charity midwifed a program to help poor families.
Nom
formal
C1
entity
4
person who helps bring something about
A person or thing that strongly helps start an idea, event, group, or change.
Schéma d’usage :
[someone] is the midwife of [something]
Erreur fréquente :
Learners may take this meaning literally and think it always involves babies. In news or history writing, 'the midwife of democracy' or similar phrases are figurative and refer to the cause or helper that made something possible.
Synonymes
architect (Often used figuratively for the main planner or designer of a policy or system; stresses design more than nurturing.)
Antonymes
obstacle (Something that makes it hard or impossible for something to begin or succeed, the opposite of helping it be born.)
Collocations
the midwife of reform
|the midwife of democracy
|the midwife of independence
|midwife of change
|economic crisis as midwife of conflict
Thèmes
politics
|history
|business
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- She is widely regarded as the midwife of the country’s new constitution.
- Some historians call the financial crisis the midwife of the revolution.
- The grassroots movement was the midwife of today’s environmental policies.
- His patient diplomacy became the midwife of the peace process.
Exemples pédagogiques
- Many people see her as the midwife of the new law.
- The old system was the midwife of many problems.
- This small group was the midwife of the modern company.
- War was the midwife of big political change.
Grammaire
Forme canonique
midwife
API
GB/mˈɪdwˌaɪf/
US/mˈɪdwˌaɪf/
Syllabes et accentuation
mid - wife (2 syllabes)
Stress on 1st syllable (mid)
Formes du mot
Noun
- Base: midwife
- Plural: mid-wives, midwives
Verb
- Base: midwife
- 3rd Person Singular: midwifes, midwives
- Present Participle: midwifing, midwiving
- Past: midwifed, midwived
- Past Participle: midwived
Famille de mots
Forms
mid-wives
noun
midwives
noun
midwifes
verb
midwifing
verb
midwiving
verb
midwifed
verb
midwived
verb
Core family
midwifery
noun C1
Points clés
- Irregular past participle: midwived Verb
Expressions
play midwife to [something]
1/plˈeɪ mˈɪdwˌaɪf tə sˈʌmθɪŋ/
idiom
formal
to help bring something about
To help something important, like a project or agreement, start and succeed, especially by guiding it at the beginning.
Exemples
- International agencies played midwife to the fragile peace deal.
- A group of senior managers played midwife to the company’s restructuring plan.
- Local activists played midwife to the creation of the new national park.
the midwife of [something]
1/ðə mˈɪdwˌaɪf əv sˈʌmθɪŋ/
fixed phrase
formal
main cause or creator of something
Used to say that a person or thing strongly helped create or start something important, like a law, a movement, or a change.
Exemples
- Political unrest was the midwife of the new democracy.
- Many consider her the midwife of modern environmental law.
- Rapid technological change has been the midwife of today’s digital economy.