a·yah (ä?y?, ???, ???)n. A housemaid or children’s nurse in South Asia.[Hindi ?y?, from Portuguese aia, nursemaid, from Latin avia, grandmother; see awo- in Indo-European roots.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.ayah (?a??) n (Professions) (in the East, Africa, and other parts of the former British Empire) a maidservant, nursemaid, or governess, esp one of Indian or Malay origin. Compare amah[C18: from Hindi ?y?, from Portuguese aia, from Latin avia grandmother]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014a?yah (?? y?) n. (in India) an Indian nursemaid or lady’s maid. [1775?85;