# ayah
## 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: /ˈaɪ.ə/, /ˈɑːjə/

#### Noun

ayah (plural ayahs)
* 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

* amah

### Etymology 2

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

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈaɪ.(j)ɑː/, /ˈaɪ.ə/

#### Noun

ayah (plural ayahs or ayat)
* (Islam) A verse in the Quran.
    Synonym: ayat

##### Alternative forms

* ayat

##### Translations
### Further reading

* Ayah in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)
* Āyah on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
* ayah (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

### Anagrams

* Haya, haya

## Indonesian
### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

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

### Noun

ayah (plural ayah-ayah)
* (formal) father (male parent)
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:ayah

#### Derived terms

Regular affixed derivations:
* berayah [stative / habitual] (beR-)
* keayahan [abstract / locative] (ke-an)

#### See also

* bung

### References

* ↑ Robert Blust, David F. Aberle, N. J. Allen, R. H. Barnes, Ann Chowning (1980 April 1) “Early Austronesian Social Organization: The Evidence of Language [and Comments and Reply]”, in Current Anthropology‎, volume 21, number 2, →DOI, →ISSN, pages 205–247
* ↑ 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

* “ayah” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.
* Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*aya₂”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

## Malay
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [a.jah]
** Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -jah, -ah
* Hyphenation: a‧yah

### Etymology 1

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)
* (formal, polite) A father (male parent).
    Synonyms: abah, bapa, rama
    ayah Daniel ― Daniel's father

##### Affixations

* ayahanda
* berayah
* berayahkan
* keayahan

##### Compounds

* ayah angkat (“adoptive father”)
* ayah tiri (“stepfather”)

##### Descendants

* Indonesian: ayah
* Peranakan Indonesian: ajah

### Etymology 2

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)
* (dated) A nursemaid, usually one of Indian ancestry.

##### Related terms

* amah

#### See also

* pengasuh (“caretaker”)
* pembantu rumah (“domestic worker”)

### References

* ↑ Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*aya₂”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

### Further reading

* "ayah" in Kamus Dewan, Fourth Edition, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, →ISBN, 2005.
* “ayah” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.