sage-femme (English spelling) sagefemme

...The term matrone (from the Latin matrona, originally meaning "noble lady"), which is said to have had the meaning of midwife added around the 15th century, passed through the 18th century term "handmaid" and now only means "undercover midwife" who performs illegal abortions. In addition, other terms such as sage‐femme ("wise woman"), which suggests a holder of wisdom rooted in the earth, lucine, which comes from Lucina, the goddess of light and fertility, and sorcière blanche ("white witch") can also refer to midwives, which is interesting in that it suggests the relationship between midwives and "witches" in traditional societies. [Matsumiya Yoshihiro] Women who take care of pregnant women and women who have just given birth and assist with childbirth can be found not only in Japan but in most societies. ...

*Some of the terminology explanations that mention "sage-femme" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…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。【松宮 由洋】　妊婦や出産直後の女性の世話をしたり，出産の介助をする女性の存在は，日本だけでなく，ほとんどの社会に見いだせる。…

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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