ayah

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English

Etymology 1

From various Indian languages (e.g. Hindi आया (āyā, “dry nurse, nanny”)), from Portuguese aia (“nurse, governess”), from Latin avia (“grandmother”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈaɪ.ə/, /ˈɑːjə/

Noun

ayah (plural ayahs)

  1. A South Asian female servant, maid or nanny, historically, often one working for Europeans in South Asia.
    • 1888, Rudyard Kipling, “Watches of the Night”, in Plain Tales from the Hills (fiction):
      She manufactured the Station scandal, and talked to her ayah.
    • 1989, Shashi Tharoor, The Great Indian Novel‎, New York: Arcade Publishing, published 2011, Book 4:
      […] a cot of iron had to be manufactured for [Bhim] after he had demolished two wooden cribs with a lusty kick of his foot; and a succession of bruised ayahs had finally to be replaced by a male attendant, a former Hastinapur all-in wrestling champion.
See also

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Arabic آيَة (ʔāya, “sign, token”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈaɪ.(j)ɑː/, /ˈaɪ.ə/

Noun

ayah (plural ayahs or ayat)

  1. (Islam) A verse in the Quran.
    Synonym: ayat
Alternative forms
Translations

Further reading

Anagrams

Indonesian

Indonesian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia id

Etymology

From Malay ayah (“father”), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *aya₂ (“father’s sister, father’s sister’s husband”), from Proto-Austronesian *aya₂.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a.jah/
  • Audio(file)
  • Hyphenation: a‧yah

Noun

ayah (first-person possessive ayahku, second-person possessive ayahmu, third-person possessive ayahnya)

  1. (formal) father (male parent)
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:ayah

Derived terms

Affixed terms and other derivations

Regular affixed derivations:

See also

References

  1. ^ Robert Blust, David F. Aberle, N. J. Allen, R. H. Barnes, Ann Chowning (1980 April 1) “Early Austronesian Social Organization: The Evidence of Language ”, in Current Anthropology‎, volume 21, number 2, →DOI, →ISSN, pages 205–247
  2. ^ Robert Blust (1993) “Austronesian sibling terms and culture history”, in Bijdragen tot de taal-, land- en volkenkunde / Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia‎, volume 149, number 1, →DOI, →ISSN, pages 22–76

Further reading

Malay

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Malay Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia ms

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *aya (“father’s sister, father’s sister’s husband”), from Proto-Austronesian *aya.

Noun

ayah (Jawi spelling ايه, plural ayah-ayah, informal 1st possessive ayahku, 2nd possessive ayahmu, 3rd possessive ayahnya)

  1. (formal, polite) father (male parent)
    Synonyms: abah, bapa, rama
    Ayah Daniel ― Daniel's father
Derived terms
Descendants
  • Indonesian: ayah
  • Peranakan Indonesian: ajah

Etymology 2

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Borrowed from Hindi आया (āyā), from Portuguese aia.

Noun

ayah (Jawi spelling ايه, plural ayah-ayah, informal 1st possessive ayahku, 2nd possessive ayahmu, 3rd possessive ayahnya)

  1. (dated) nursemaid, usually one of Indian ancestry
Related terms

See also

Further reading

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia