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Discussion Groups / English Usage / March 2006Plural of "midwife"
I think I just heard an NPR reporter say "midwifes" /mIdwaIfs/ as a plural -- I would assume that the correct plural is "midwives" /mIdwaIvz/. M-W doesn't seem to say anything. Google has: "several midwifes" 48 "several midwives" 502  SignatureSalvatore Volatile On 30 Mar 2006, Salvatore Volatile wrote > I think I just heard an NPR reporter say "midwifes" /mIdwaIfs/ > as a plural -- I would assume that the correct plural is [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > "several midwifes" 48 > "several midwives" 502 I'd go for "midwives"; but which way do you pronounce "midwifery"? SignatureCheers, Harvey Canadian and British English, indiscriminately mixed For e-mail, change harvey.news to harvey.van > On 30 Mar 2006, Salvatore Volatile wrote > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > I'd go for "midwives"; but which way do you pronounce "midwifery"? mid-wiff-ery. With slightly more emphasis on the second syllable than the others. My wife is a midwife. Cheers, Sage >> I think I just heard an NPR reporter say "midwifes" /mIdwaIfs/ >> as a plural -- I would assume that the correct plural is [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >> "several midwifes" 48 >> "several midwives" 502 Dictionary.com says both. Cambridge says "midwives." > I'd go for "midwives"; but which way do you pronounce "midwifery"? I'm with you on "midwives." As for "midwifery," I see that as not being plural matter[1], and would go with the "f" version. (Dictionary.com has both; Cambridge has the "f" version.) [1] Even if someone here thinks up a way for "midwifery" to be plural, I'd still go with "f." SignatureMaria Conlon >>> I think I just heard an NPR reporter say "midwifes" /mIdwaIfs/ >>> as a plural -- I would assume that the correct plural is [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > [1] Even if someone here thinks up a way for "midwifery" to be plural, > I'd still go with "f." That's what I have heard. My nephew's wife is a PA, specializing in obstetrics and midwifery. (By the way, -if- as in "if".) I joked about it as -whiffery, but she didn't think that was funny. > Maria Conlon wrote, in part: >> [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > obstetrics and midwifery. (By the way, -if- as in "if".) I joked > about it as -whiffery, but she didn't think that was funny. Merriam-Webster gives two pronunciations, with the "if" version first. I've never heard it that way. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I've ever heard the word actually spoken. It's just a word I've read... SignatureMaria Conlon, resident of southeast Michigan, near Detroit. [...] > That's what I have heard. My nephew's wife is a PA, specializing in > obstetrics and midwifery. (By the way, -if- as in "if".) I joked about > it as -whiffery, but she didn't think that was funny. PA? As in Personal Assistant? Shurely shome mishtake. Will. > [...] >> That's what I have heard. My nephew's wife is a PA, specializing in >> obstetrics and midwifery. (By the way, -if- as in "if".) I joked >> about it as -whiffery, but she didn't think that was funny. > > PA? As in Personal Assistant? Shurely shome mishtake. Physician's Assistant, I think. It's marvellous what I've learnt watching ER. >> [...] >>> That's what I have heard. My nephew's wife is a PA, specializing in [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Physician's Assistant, I think. Correct. On 30 Mar 2006, Maria Conlon wrote >>> I think I just heard an NPR reporter say "midwifes" >>> /mIdwaIfs/ as a plural -- I would assume that the correct [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > I'm with you on "midwives." As for "midwifery," I see that as > not being plural matter[1], Oh, it's not -- -I was sliding sideways into the "wiff-ery/why- fery" thing. SignatureCheers, Harvey Canadian and British English, indiscriminately mixed For e-mail, change harvey.news to harvey.van >> I'm with you on "midwives." As for "midwifery," I see that as >> not being plural matter[1], > > Oh, it's not -- -I was sliding sideways into the "wiff-ery/why- > fery" thing. Ah. Well, Pat Durkin has an answer about that (and the answer surprised me). SignatureMaria > I think I just heard an NPR reporter say "midwifes" /mIdwaIfs/ as a > plural -- I would assume that the correct plural is "midwives" [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > "several midwifes" 48 > "several midwives" 502 I've never heard or seen anything but midwives. Google searches return any old sh.t along with the good stuff. SignatureStephen Lennox Head, Australia [ ... ] > Google searches return any old sh.t along with the good stuff. Which is why we run them. Today's any old sh.t is tomorrow's standard usage.[1] [1] Sometimes. SignatureBob Lieblich Should we Areffize "any old sh.t" to AOS? > I think I just heard an NPR reporter say "midwifes" /mIdwaIfs/ as a > plural -- I would assume that the correct plural is "midwives" [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > "several midwifes" 48 > "several midwives" 502 Midwives, to rhyme with housewives. Hence the title of the BBC series about labour and delivery, /Desperate Midwives/. |
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