amah

• ama

From Portuguese ama (“female nurse”), from Medieval Latin amma (“wet nurse, amma”), perhaps an alteration of mamma, of imitative origin, or from Ancient Greek.

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɑː.mə/
• (Singapore English) IPA^(key): /ˈɑː.mɑ/

amah (plural amahs)

1. In South Asia, a woman employed to look after children; (formerly) a wet nurse.
2. In China and Southeast Asia, a female domestic helper.
   • 1977, John Le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy, Folio Society 2010, p. 20:

     Then one day he disappeared and when Luke called apprehensively at his apartment the old amah told him that ‘Whisky Papa runrun London fastee.’

• amma

• AHAM, Hama, maha, mahā

• IPA^(key): /amah/

amah (plural amah-amah, first-person possessive amahku, second-person possessive amahmu, third-person possessive amahnya)

1. female domestic helper.

From Arabic عَامَّة‎ (ʿāmma, “common people, public”).

• IPA^(key): /amah/

amah (plural amah-amah, first-person possessive amahku, second-person possessive amahmu, third-person possessive amahnya)

1. common people