Wordsmith Talk |
About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us | |||
Register Log In Wordsmith.org Forums General Topics Q&A about words ob-la-di...
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
what's the etymology of OBstetrics?
Well, obstetrix is a midwife, and there's a Late Latin backformed verb obstetrico 'to perform the office of a midwife, to assist in childbirth'. From ob- + sto 'to stand by'; cf. English bestead. Obstetrics and obstat are therefor cognate with one another. Obsto means 'to stand before or against (something), withstand, thwart, hinder, oppose'. A good example of how a form of the verb came to have almost an opposite meaning from hinder to help.
Moderated by Jackie
Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics Forums16Topics13,913Posts229,350Members9,182 Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members Ineffable, ddrinnan, TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV
9,182 Registered Users
Who's Online Now 1 members (wofahulicodoc), 932 guests, and 0 robots. Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days) A C Bowden 22ddrinnan 1
Top Posters wwh 13,858Faldage 13,803Jackie 11,613wofahulicodoc 10,549tsuwm 10,542LukeJavan8 9,918Buffalo Shrdlu 7,210AnnaStrophic 6,511Wordwind 6,296of troy 5,400
Forum Rules · Mark All Read Contact Us · Forum Help · Wordsmith.org