Where does “midwif” come from?

midwif (Middle English) comes from Middle English wif, from Old English wīf, from Proto-West Germanic wīb, from Proto-Germanic wībą, from Proto-Indo-European gʰwíh₂bʰ- — shame, pudenda.

midwif (Middle English): midwife

Definitions

  1. midwife

Ancestry of “midwif”, step by step

midwif traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English wif

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishwifwoman, female human; wife, female spouse; The...
2Old Englishwīfwife; woman, female, lady, wife; female
3Proto-West Germanicwībwoman; wife
4Proto-Germanicwībąwoman; wife
5Proto-Indo-Europeangʰwíh₂bʰ-shame, pudenda

via Middle English mid

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishmidwith; amid, amidst; mid-, middle, central,...
2Old EnglishmiðAlternative form of mid
3Proto-Germanicmidiwith, by, through; along, together
4Proto-Indo-Europeanmeth₂with
5Proto-Indo-Europeanméin the middle of, near, by, around, with

Words derived from “midwif”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʰwíh₂bʰ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic wībą →Every word from Proto-West Germanic wīb →