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mammy

 - 3 dictionary results

mam⋅my

[mam-ee]
–noun, plural -mies.
1. Informal. mother 1 .
2. (formerly in the southern U.S.) a black woman engaged as a nurse to white children or as a servant to a white family.

Origin:
1515–25; mamm(a) 1 + -y 2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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mam·my   (mām'ē)   
n.   pl. mam·mies
  1. Mother.

  2. Offensive A Black nursemaid, especially one formerly in the southern United States.


[From dialectal mam, variant of mama.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

mammy 
"black woman having the care of white children," 1837, Southern U.S. dialect, variant of mamma.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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