释义 |
ayah /ˈʌɪə /nounA nursemaid or nanny employed by Europeans in India or another former British territory.By 1753 you could find Indians employed as servants and ayahs, nurses for children, in the households of a significant number of the British elite....- When a deadly snake, a black krait, slithered into my nursery and my ayah [Indian nanny] ran screaming from the room, her ankle bracelets chattering in panic, it was Yah Mohammed who calmly killed the krait.
- In the 17th century servants and ayahs were brought over by British families returning from India.
OriginAnglo-Indian, from Portuguese aia 'nurse', feminine of aio 'tutor'. Rhymesacquire, admire, afire, applier, aspire, attire, backfire, barbwire, bemire, briar, buyer, byre, choir, conspire, crier, cryer, defier, denier, desire, dire, drier, dryer, dyer, enquire, entire, esquire, expire, fire, flyer, friar, fryer, Gaia, gyre, hellfire, hire, hiya, ire, Isaiah, jambalaya, Jeremiah, Josiah, Kintyre, latria, liar, lyre, Maia, Maya, Mayer, messiah, mire, misfire, Nehemiah, Obadiah, papaya, pariah, peripeteia, perspire, playa, Praia, prior, pyre, quire, replier, scryer, shire, shyer, sire, skyer, Sophia, spire, squire, supplier, Surabaya, suspire, tier, tire, transpire, trier, tumble-dryer, tyre, Uriah, via, wire, Zechariah, Zedekiah, Zephaniah |