amah

[ ah-muh, am-uh ]

/ ˈɑ mə, ˈæm ə /

noun (in India and the Far East)

a baby's nurse, especially a wet nurse.

a female servant; maid.

Nearby words

amado, amadoda, amador guerrero, amadou, amagasaki, amah, amain, amakihi, amakrokokroko, amakwerekwere, amal.

Origin of amah

1830–40; < Portuguese ama nurse, governess < Medieval Latin amma wet nurse, perhaps alteration of Latin mamma breast

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for amah

The amah complained that the roof leaked and I came to see for myself.
East of Suez|William Somerset Maugham
The amah waxed voluble and attacked Little Willie with the family umbrella.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 156, Jan. 15, 1919|Various
Then he makes up his mind the best thing is to leave Daisy with the Amah.
East of Suez|William Somerset Maugham
The amah shouldered the steaming buckets and splashed across the bare boards of the ancestral hall beyond.
The Best Short Stories of 1919|Various

It was very easy for him to get into the room after amah and I went away.
East of Suez|William Somerset Maugham

British Dictionary definitions for amah

amah

/ (ˈɑːmə, ˈæmə) /

noun

(in the East, esp formerly) a nurse or maidservant, esp one of Chinese originCompare ayah

Word Origin for amah

C19: from Portuguese ama nurse, wet nurse

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012