ˈman-ˈmidwife Now rare.
Pl. men-midwives.
A man who assists women in childbirth; an accoucheur. Also fig.
| 1625 B. Jonson Staple of N. Induct., There are a set of gamesters within, in trauell of a thing call'd a Play,..and they haue intreated me to be their Man-Midwife, the Prologue. 1638 Suckling Aglaura (1646) 5 That old doting man-mid-wife Time. 1727 Bradley Fam. Dict. s.v. After-Birth, That which Chirurgeons and Men-Midwives call Placenta. 1783 S. F. Simmons in Med. Commun. I. 176 Dr. Bland, physician man-midwife to the Westminster General Dispensary. 1797 Directory Sheffield 81 Hodgson, John, surgeon, and man-midwife. 1807 Robinson Archæol. Græca v. xiv. 476 The ancient Athenians used only men-midwives. |
Hence man-midwifery, the practice or occupation of a man-midwife.
| 1681 T. Flatman Heraclitus Ridens No. 14 Jest... But you promised me I should see Mr. Character brought to bed. Earn. That you shall presently, of a Premunire at least, by the help of his own man-midwifery. 1684 Earl Roscom. Ess. Transl. Verse 244 A Quack (too scandalously Mean to Name) Had, by Man-Midwifery, got Wealth and Fame. 1790 P. Thicknesse (title) Man-Midwifery Analyzed. |