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accoucheur

[ak-oo-shur; French a-koo-shœr]
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noun, plural ac·cou·cheurs [ak-oo-shurz; French a-koo-shœr] /ˌæk uˈʃɜrz; French a kuˈʃœr/.
  1. a person who assists during childbirth, especially an obstetrician.
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Origin of accoucheur

From French, dating back to 1750–60; see origin at accouchement, -eur
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for accoucheur

Historical Examples

  • The disadvantages of the method are entirely with the accoucheur and not to the mother or child.

    The Mother and Her Child

    William S. Sadler

  • More than ever you have the air of a confessor and accoucheur of souls.

  • His fee as accoucheur on these occasions was, I believe, a considerable one.

  • The cord is attached to the body of the child at the point called the navel, being cut off at birth by the accoucheur.

  • With monstrous growths the accoucheur must depend upon his own resources, ingenuity and knowledge of the mechanism of parturition.

British Dictionary definitions for accoucheur

accoucheur

noun
  1. a male obstetrician or midwife
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Word Origin

literally: one who is present at the bedside
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for accoucheur

n.

1759, "midwife" (properly, "male midwife"), from French accoucheur (Jules Clément, later 17c.), agent noun from accoucher "to go to childbed, be delivered" (13c.) originally simply "to lie down" (12c.), from Old French culcher "to lie," from Latin collocare, from com- "with" (see com-) + locare "to place" (see locate). The fem. is accoucheuse (1847).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper