An amah (Chinese:阿嬤, Portuguese:ama, Medieval Latin:amma ; or ayah Hindi:āyā, Portuguese:aia, Latin:avia) is a woman employed by a family to clean, look after children, etc. This word is particularly common in East Asia and India (ayah, though, is a more common variant). It has been part of the Cantonese prevailing in Hong Kong, having a similar meaning to "maid" or "wet nurse". The more "politically correct" term for maid, instead of "amah", in recent years (since about the mid nineties), is "helper". In Taiwan and Northern China, this word, or rather a slang in recent days, may even refer to any old lady in general. Medieval Latin refers to the Latin used in the Middle Ages, after the fall of the Roman empire but before the rise of vernacular languages in the Renaissance. ... Hindi (हिन्दी) is a language spoken mainly in North and Central India. ... Latin is the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... This article needs copyediting (checking for proper English spelling, grammar, usage, etc. ... This article is on all of the Yue dialects. ... A maidservant or in current usage maid is a female employed in domestic service. ... A wet nurse is a woman who nurses a baby not her own. ... Alternative meaning: In geology, North China (continent) and South China (continent) were two ancient landmasses that correspond to modern northern and southern China. ...

"Ayah" in English literatures

Like many other terms from the East, "amah" and "ayah" are adopted in the English language: The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

She never remembered seeing familiarly anything but the dark faces of her Ayah and the other native servants, and as they always obeyed her and gave her her own way in everything, because the Mem Sahib would be angry if she was disturbed by her crying, by the time she was six years old she was as tyrannical and selfish a little pig as ever lived.

• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

When Tony and his sister arrived they wanted to go straight to the pond, but their ayah said they must take a sharp walk first, and as she said this she glanced at the time-board to see when the Gardens closed that night.

• The Little White Bird by James Matth Barrie

For Irish-Norwegian duo playing Neo-classical music see Secret Garden. ... Frances Hodgson Burnett, (November 24, 1849 - October 29, 1924) was an English playwright and author. ...

See also

• Amah Rock
• Filipinos in Hong Kong