Amah (occupation)

An amah (Portuguese: ama, German: Amme, Medieval Latin: amma, simplified Chinese: 阿妈; traditional Chinese: 阿媽; pinyin: ā mā; Wade–Giles: a¹ ma¹) or ayah (Portuguese: aia, Latin: avia, Tagalog: yaya) is a girl or woman employed by a family to clean, look after children, and perform other domestic tasks.

[1][2] Joanna de Silva, a native of Bengal, possibly of part Portuguese descent, was an early example of an ayah who travelled to Britain with her charges, and, more rarely, had her portrait painted by William Wood in 1792.

Ah (阿; ā) is a common Chinese prefix used before monosyllabic names or kinship terms to indicate familiarity, and mah (妈; 媽; mā) means "mother".

In Taiwan and southeastern China where the Minnan language is spoken, amah (Chinese: 阿媽; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: a‑má) refers to the paternal grandmother.

During the Tang dynasty in China, the word amah was used as an informal and poetic title for the Taoist goddess, the Queen Mother of the West.

A Chinese amah (right) with a woman and her three children
An oil painting depicting Joanna de Silva, an Indian woman, from waist up, looking into the distance. She wears delicate white clothing and has jewellery around her neck and in her hair, and a ring on her finger. An inscription states Joanna de Silva, a native / of Bengal, the faithful / and affectionate Nurse / of the Children of / Lieutenant Colonel Charles Deare / Painted by Will:m Wood 1792
Joanna de Silva
Two ayahs in British India with their charges
Regulations of Huangpu Park in 1917. There is a rule specifically for amahs.