obstetrix

English

Etymology

From Latin obstetrix.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

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Noun

obstetrix

1. (formal) A midwife.

Latin

Alternative forms

• obstitrix

Etymology

From obstō (“to stand before”) +‎ -trix, or with the same elements.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈob.ste.triːks/, [ˈɔps̠t̪ɛt̪riːks̠] or IPA^(key): /obˈstet.riːks/, [ɔpˈs̠t̪ɛt̪riːks̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈob.ste.triks/, [ˈɔbst̪et̪riks] or IPA^(key): /obˈstet.riks/, [obˈst̪ɛt̪riks]
• The vowel in the second syllable is short -ĕ-, reduced from the short -ă- seen in stătus, stător, etc. Metrically, the second syllable can be light or heavy because of the following -tr- cluster.

Noun

obstetrīx f (genitive obstetrīcis); third declension

1. midwife
   • c. 200 BCE – 190 BCE, Plautus, Captivi 629, (trochaic septenarius):

     Qui tu scis? an tu fortasse fuisti meae matri obstĕtrix, / qui id tam audacter dicere audes?

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	obstetrīx	obstetrīcēs
genitive	obstetrīcis	obstetrīcum
dative	obstetrīcī	obstetrīcibus
accusative	obstetrīcem	obstetrīcēs
ablative	obstetrīce	obstetrīcibus
vocative	obstetrīx	obstetrīcēs

Derived terms

• obstetrīcius
• obstetricus (modern, medical)
• obstetricālis (modern, medical)

Descendants

• → English: obstetrix (learned)

Further reading

• “obstetrix”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “obstetrix”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers