A nursemaid or nanny, especially a native maid employed by European families in colonial India to care for children. A female domestic servant who looks after children.
From Hindi आया (āyā) and Urdu آیا (āyā), meaning 'she came' or 'one who comes', from the verb आना (ānā) 'to come'. The term also exists in Portuguese aia meaning 'governess', which may have influenced its adoption. British families in colonial India used this word from the 18th century onward to refer to Indian women employed as children's caretakers and nursemaids.
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