accoucheur

accoucheur

English

Etymology

Attested since 1727. Borrowed from French accoucheur, from accoucher (to go to childbed, be delivered), from Old French culcher (to lie), from Latin collocō (to place, put, set in order, assign), from con- + locō (to put, place, set). See accouchement.

Pronunciation

Noun

accoucheur (plural accoucheurs)

  1. (medicine) A person, especially a man, who delivers a baby (in childbirth).
    • 1951 February, Forrest H. Howard, “The Physiologic Position for Delivery”, in Northwest Medicine, volume 50, number 2, Portland, Ore.: Northwest Medical Publishing Association, page 98:
      And lastly, obstetrical chairs seemed most natural to the accoucheurs of the middle ages.
    • 1992, Hilary Mantel, A Place of Greater Safety, Harper Perennial, published 2007, page 163:
      Family story: on the day of his birth the accoucheur approached his father, the baby wrapped in a cloth.

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See also

French

Etymology

    From accoucher +‎ -eur.

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    accoucheur m (plural accoucheurs, feminine accoucheuse)

    1. midwife (male)
    2. obstetrician

    Descendants

    • English: accoucheur
    • Polish: akuszer
    • Russian: акуше́р (akušér)

    Further reading