ayah
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of ayah
First recorded in 1775–85; from Hindi āyā, from Portuguese aia “maidservant,” from Latin avia “grandmother,” equivalent to av(us) “grandfather” + -ia feminine suffix
Vocabulary lists containing ayah
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Upstairs, his mother and the ayah are arguing over his mother’s handbag.
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 31, 2018
She is tapping the arms of her chair when the ayah wheels her in for tea that afternoon.
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 31, 2018
Amer leaves the vegetables upstairs with the ayah and goes to Aunty Park for a walk.
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 31, 2018
“They haven’t fixed it,” Amer tells the ayah.
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 31, 2018
She said she had applied for a UN job and they would all live in The Hague with a Dutch ayah to look after them.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
