I. ˈmidˌwīf noun
( plural mid·wives -īvz)
Etymology: Middle English midwif, from mid with (from Old English) + wif woman, wife — more at meta- , wife
1.
a. : a woman not qualified as a physician who assists other women in childbirth especially habitually or as a means of livelihood
b. : an accoucheur of either sex
2. : one that helps to produce or bring forth something
thou art the midwife of my woe — Shakespeare
what Engels had meant by describing war as the midwife of social change — E.R.Bentley
II. transitive verb
( midwifed -īft ; or midwived -īvd ; midwifed or midwived ; midwifing -īfiŋ ; or midwiving -īviŋ ; midwifes -īfs ; or midwives -īvz)
1. : to assist in bringing (a child) to birth
2. : to assist in producing, bringing forth, or bringing about
probably the first time in history that a bank midwived a successful biographical novel — Irving Stone