Know Your English (Jan2001)

Know your English

Why is a person who helps deliver a child called a ``midwife''?

There are several theories about the origin of the word. Some people argue that the word ``mid'' stands for ``middle''; the midwife was a go between the child and the mother! Considering the fact that we live in an age when we need middlemen for everything - whether it is to buy guns for the country, or fixing cricket matches- this explanation may appeal to many. Unfortunately it is not accepted by the pundits.
An explanation that is accepted by many is the following. The word ``wife'' (though it was spelt `wif' originally), I understand, in Old English meant ``woman''. In fact, the original word for ``woman'' was ``wifman'' - ``wif'' meaning ``woman'' and ``man'' meaning ``human being''. The word ``mid'' comes from the Old English ``mid'' meaning ``with''. So, a ``midwife'', as you can probably guess, was a ``woman'' who stayed ``with'' the mother and helped her deliver the child. ``Midwife'' is one of the few words left in the language where the original meaning of the ``wife'' is retained.



Source:
The Hindu daily, Tuesday, January 09, 2001