An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Hebamme

by Friedrich Kluge

Hebamme, f., ‘midwife,’ from MidHG. hębamme; the latter form, from hęve-amme, has been modified in sense by connection with heben, its last component representing an earlier anne equiv. in meaning, OHG. usually hevi-anna, f.; anna, f., ‘woman’ is cognate with Lat. ănus, ‘old woman’ (see Ahn), and hence probably stands for anua, anva (comp. Mann, Kinn). Yet OHG. hęvianna may be really nothing more than the pres. partic. of heben, prim. form hafjan(d)jô, ‘she who lifts,’ of which the later forms are modifications. In MidE. midwîf, E. midwife, ModDu. vroedvrouw, from vroed, ‘wise, prudent’ (comp. Span. comadre, Fr. sage-femme); no word common to Teut. can be found. There were probably no regular midwives in the Teut. period.