Meanings
present singular third person obstetricates · participle present obstetricating · participle past obstetricated · past obstetricated
- obsoleteTo assist in the manner or as if in the manner of a midwife.
Whatever its effect on the soldiers, Paul's sermon on Areopagus has not been forgotten in Mars Hill, Maine, where the town's other doctor wears a cross in his lapel and has personally been obstetricated twice
1986, John McPhee, Heirs of General Practice1 more example
Some adviſe us to break the ſhells of Pines to facilitate their delivery, and I have eſſay'd it; but to my loſs; Nature does obſtetricate, and do that office of her ſelf when it is the beſt ſeaſon; [...]
1664, J[ohn] E[velyn], “. Chapter XXI. Of the Fir, Pine, Pinaster, Pitch-tree, &c..”, in Sylva, or A Discourse of Forest-trees and the Propagation of Timber in His Majesties Dominions. […], London: […] Jo[hn] Martyn, and Ja[mes] Allestry, printers to the Royal Society, […], →OCLC, page 53
Origin
From obstetric + -ate (verb-forming suffix).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
obstetricate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/obstetricate
“obstetricate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/obstetricate. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “obstetricate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/obstetricate.
Source: obstetricate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.