熊くま手で婆ばば

noun

midwife (archaic, derogatory)

Archaic derogatory term for a midwife, literally 'bear-hand old woman'. Not used in modern Japanese; the standard term is 産婆 (さんば) or 助産師 (じょさんし).

• 江え戸ど時じ代だいの資し料りょうには「熊くま手で婆ばば」という言こと葉ばが産さん婆ばを指さす蔑べっ称しょうとして見みられる。

  In Edo-period documents, the word 熊手婆 appears as a derogatory term for a midwife.