ayah

[ ah-yuh ]

/ ˈɑ yə /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ayah ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

(in India) a native maid or nurse.

RELATED WORDS

governess, baby-sitter

Nearby words

Origin of ayah

1775–85; < Hindi āyā < Portuguese aia maidservant < Latin avia grandmother, equivalent to av(us) grandfather + -ia feminine suffix

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

Examples from the Web for ayah

Ayah Abu Basheer is a lecturer at the Islamic University in Gaza City.
Still Not Rebuilt From Last Time|Anna Lekas Miller|November 17, 2012|DAILY BEAST
She decided to call the ayah and relieve her poor heart by assuring her of the innocence of her granddaughter.
A Bottle in the Smoke|Milne Rae
I was saved by the fidelity of an ayah, who had been in the family for ten years.
At the Point of the Bayonet|G. A. Henty
It was not the custom to say "please" and "thank you" and Mary had always slapped her Ayah in the face when she was angry.
The Secret Garden|Frances Hodgson Burnett

She stowed the box safely away, fearing lest even her ayah should discover it and marvel at the fate of the much-prized treasure.
A Bottle in the Smoke|Milne Rae
He stood between her and the ayah, so that she could not see the woman huddled on the floor.
Told in the East|Talbot Mundy

British Dictionary definitions for ayah

ayah

/ (ˈaɪə) /

noun

(in the East, Africa, and other parts of the former British Empire) a maidservant, nursemaid, or governess, esp one of Indian or Malay originCompare amah

Word Origin for ayah

C18: from Hindi āyā, from Portuguese aia, from Latin avia grandmother

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

Word Origin and History for ayah

ayah

"native nurse, children's governess," Anglo-Indian, 1782, from Portuguese aia, cognate with Spanish aya, Italian aja, etc., "nurse," from Latin avia "grandmother," fem. of avus "grandfather" (see uncle).