ayah:
(plural: ‘ayahs‘)
a woman who is appointed to look after children of a rich family, usually the British families in the countries where the former British Empire ruled — in India, Pakistan, East Africa, etc.;
a maid servant; a full-time baby-sitter,
an Indian ayah (L) with a British family
e.g.
During British rule in Asian countries, an ayah not only looked after the children of the British families but also did some translator’s job whenever the lady of the house needed to talk to anybody who did not know English.
The young native women used to feel proud working as ayahs for any White family in the British Raj days in India and Pakistan.
Note 1: ‘Amah’ is also used to refer to an ‘ayah’; however, it is used to refer to a woman of Chinese origin.
Note 2: According to Wikipedia, ‘Ayah’ or ‘Aayah’, with its plural ‘ayat’, is the Arabic word for sign, proof, law, rule, etc., and that this word is usually used to refer to a verse of the Qur’an, the holy book of Islam.
