obstetric
Americanadjective
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of or relating to the care and treatment of women in childbirth and during the period before and after delivery.
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of or relating to childbirth or obstetrics. OB, ob
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of obstetric
First recorded in 1735–45; from New Latin obstetrīcus “pertaining to a midwife,” alteration of Latin obstetrīcius, derivative of obstetrīx, equivalent to ob- ob- + ste- (combining form of stāre to stand ) + -trīx -trix
Explanation
The adjective obstetric describes things having something to do with childbirth. Much of an obstetric nurse's job, for example, is helping laboring mothers. If you go to medical school, you might have an obstetric textbook, and later you'll probably do a residency in the obstetric area of a hospital, where women give birth. The field is called obstetrics, and both words (along with the alternative adjective obstetrical) come from the Modern Latin root obstetrix, which means "midwife," or literally, "one who stands opposite."
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
