Where does “obstetrics” come from?
Obstetrics comes from Latin obstetricius, derived from obstetrix meaning midwife, combining the feminine agent suffix -trix with sto meaning to stand, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European steh₂-.
obstetrics (English): The care of women during and after pregnancy
Definitions
- The care of women during and after pregnancy
Ancestry of “obstetrics”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | obstetric | Of or relating to obstetrics |
| 2 | French | obstétrique | obstetric, obstetrical |
| 3 | Latin | obstetricus | — |
| 4 | Latin | obstetrix | midwife |
| 5 | Latin | obstō | to stand before, stand in the way of, obstruct, block, oppose |
| 6 | Latin | ob- | towards; against |
| 7 | Latin | obolus | obolus (Greek coin) |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | ὀβολός | obol, obolus, used at Athens as both a weight and... |
| 9 | Ancient Greek | ὀβελός | a spit, rod; a horizontal line |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | βέλος | missile, arrow, dart; weapon; something quickly... |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷélHos | — |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷelH- | to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing |