ayah

[ ah-yuh ]
See synonyms for ayah on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an Indian maid or nurse, especially one employed in a colonial household.

Origin of ayah

1
First recorded in 1775–85; from Hindi āyā, from Portuguese aia “maidservant,” from Latin avia “grandmother,” equivalent to av(us) “grandfather” + -ia feminine suffix

Words Nearby ayah

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use ayah in a sentence

  • It was the next morning, and Nina's ayah sat on a chair in the passage, guarding the door of her mistress's room.

    The Tigress | Anne Warner
  • When Colonel Darling returned from parade the ayah was gone from the passage-way outside his wife's room.

    The Tigress | Anne Warner

British Dictionary definitions for ayah

ayah

/ (ˈaɪə) /


noun
  1. (in the East, Africa, and other parts of the former British Empire) a maidservant, nursemaid, or governess, esp one of Indian or Malay origin: Compare amah

Origin of ayah

1
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