ayah

[ ah-yuh ]

/ ˈɑ yə /

noun

(in India) a native maid or nurse.

Words nearby ayah

axosomatic, axseed, axum, ay, ayacucho, ayah, ayahuasca, ayana, ayande, ayatollah, ayckbourn

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. 2020

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

ayah

noun

Words related to ayah

Words nearby ayah

Origin of ayah

Examples from the Web for ayah

British Dictionary definitions for ayah

noun

Word Origin for ayah