obstetrix
English
Etymology
Pronunciation
Audio (US): (file)
Noun
obstetrix
- (formal) A midwife.
Latin
Alternative forms
- obstitrix
Etymology
From obstō (“to stand before”, verb) + -trīx f (“-ess”, agentive suffix), or with the same elements.
Pronunciation
- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈɔp.stɛ.triːks], [ɔpˈstɛt.riːks]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈɔb.st̪e.t̪riks], [obˈst̪ɛt̪.riks]
- The vowel in the second syllable is short -ĕ-,[1] reduced from the short -ă- seen in stătus, stător, etc.[2] Metrically, the second syllable can be light or heavy because of the following -tr- cluster.
Noun
obstetrīx f (genitive obstetrīcis); third declension
- 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?
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- 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)
References
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