Sentence:  Laura hadn't known that anyone's mother could look like that, like the <WSD>babas</WSD> you sometimes saw downtown, bandaged in kerchiefs and aprons, sitting toothless in stockinged feet on small verandahs, peeling potatoes or beets or just shaking their heads and grimacing. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  An old woman, especially a traditional old woman from an eastern European culture.