ayah
/ˈaɪ.ə/ noun
Forms ayahs ayat
- noun A South Asian female servant, maid or nanny, historically, often one working for Europeans in South Asia.
- noun (Islam) A verse in the Quran.
Etymology
From various Indian languages (e.g. Hindi आया (āyā, “dry nurse, nanny”)), from Portuguese aia (“nurse, governess”), from Latin avia (“grandmother”).
Borrowed from Arabic آيَة (ʔāya, “sign, token”).
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [Pg. aia, akin to Sp. aya a governess, ayo a tutor.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “ayah”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details