sage-femme

• sagefemme (post-1990 spelling)

From Middle French sage-femme, from Old French sage-femme. By surface analysis, sage (“wise”) +‎ femme (“woman”).

• IPA^(key): /saʒ.fam/

• Audio (Paris):

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sage-femme m or f (plural sages-femmes, masculine accoucheur or (rare) sage-homme or maïeuticien)

1. midwife

   Synonym: accoucheuse

Typically the word sage-femme is also used to designate a male midwife; sage-homme m is uncommon for this usage, and maïeuticien m is overly obscure.

• “sage-femme”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

sage-femme f (plural sages-femmes)

1. (Jersey) midwife

• accouocheuse
• gardgienne