Matrone

…The change in the traditional image of midwives can be seen in French usage. The word matrone (derived from Latin matrona, originally meaning "lady"), which is said to have taken on the meaning of midwife around the 15th century, passed through the 18th century meaning of "handmaid" and now only remains as a "clandestine midwife" who performs illegal abortions. In addition, words such as sage‐femme ("wise woman"), which suggests a holder of wisdom rooted in the earth, lucine, derived from Lucina, the goddess of light and fertility, and sorcière blanche ("white witch") can also refer to midwives, which is interesting as it suggests the relationship between midwives and "witches" in traditional society. …

*Some of the terminology explanations that mention "matrone" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…伝統的な産婆のイメージの変化がフランス語の用法に看取される。15世紀ころ産婆の意が加わったといわれるmatrone(ラテン語matronaに由来し原義は〈貴婦人〉)は，18世紀の〈遣手（やりて）婆〉を経て現代では不法な堕胎を行う〈もぐりの産婆〉の意で残るにすぎない。なお，大地に根ざす知恵の保持者を暗示するsage‐femme(〈賢い女〉)や，光と豊饒（ほうじよう）の女神ルキナに由来するlucine，さらにsorcière blanche(〈白い魔女〉)などの語も産婆を指すことがあり，産婆と〈魔女〉の伝統的社会における関係を示唆して興味深い。…

※「matrone」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報