LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininethird declension

obstetrīx

obstetrīx f (genitive obstetrīcis)
Classical[ˈɔp.stɛ.triːks]Ecclesiastical[ˈɔb.ste.triks]

Meaning

  1. midwife
    Qui tu scis? an tu fortasse fuisti meae matri obstetrix, / qui id tam audacter dicere audes?How do you know? Or were you perhaps my mother’s midwife, that you dare to say that so boldly?c. 200 BCE – 190 BCE, Plautus, Captivi 2.2.96–97 (trochaic septenarius)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeobstetrīx
obsētrīx		obstetrīcēs
obsētrīcēs
genitiveobstetrīcis
obsētrīcis		obstetrīcum
obsētrīcum
dativeobstetrīcī
obsētrīcī		obstetrīcibus
obsētrīcibus
accusativeobstetrīcem
obsētrīcem		obstetrīcēs
obsētrīcēs
ablativeobstetrīce
obsētrīce		obstetrīcibus
obsētrīcibus
vocativeobstetrīx
obsētrīx		obstetrīcēs
obsētrīcēs

obstē^trix (opst-) or obstī^trix (opst-), īcis, f. obsto,
I. a midwife: peperit Sine obstetricis operā, Plaut. Cist. 1, 2, 22; id. Capt. 3, 4, 96: mittere ad obstetricem, Ter. Ad. 3, 1, 5; Hor. Epod. 17, 51; Vulg. Exod. 1, 15: obstetricum nobilitas, Plin. 28, 6, 18, § 67; Paul. Sent. 2, 24, 8 sq.

Origins

From obstō (“to stand before”, verb) + -trīx f (“-ess”, agentive suffix), or with the same elements.

Descendants
  • Englishobstetrix

Quick answers

What does obstetrīx mean in Latin?
obstetrīx, a noun, means “midwife”.
What is the genitive of obstetrīx?
The genitive singular is obstetrīcis. obstetrīx is feminine, third declension.
How do you pronounce obstetrīx?
In classical Latin, [ˈɔp.stɛ.triːks]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈɔb.ste.triks].