English
ayah
Ayah comes from Portuguese aia ‘nurse, governess’, from Latin avia ‘grandmother’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwh₂os.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éwh₂os‘maternal grandfather’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEavus‘grandfather’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEavia‘grandmother’
- Portuguesec. 1500–presentaia‘nurse, governess’
- Englishearliest quotation 1888ayah
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éwh₂os‘maternal grandfather’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEavus‘grandfather’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEavia‘grandmother’
- Portuguesec. 1500–presentaia‘nurse, governess’
- Englishearliest quotation 1888ayah
Earliest quotation: 1888, Rudyard Kipling, Watches of the Night: “She manufactured the Station scandal, and talked to her…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwh₂os ‘maternal grandfather’
through Latin avia ‘grandmother’
Another origin of ayah
- Proto-Semiticc. 4000–3000 BCE*awayat-reconstructed
- Arabicc. 500–presentآيَةʔāya‘sign, token’
- Englishtodayayah
Today it means
noun A South Asian female servant, maid or nanny, historically, often one working for Europeans in South Asia.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwh₂os / ayah