Amah

Amah is a term for mother in several contexts.

"Amah" is the Mosuo term for mother.^[1] The word "ammah" or "anmah" means "mother," and "ayah" has an identical meaning in Okinawan dialect.^[2] Another similar word is "Ima" (pronounced 'ee-ma', spelled 'אמא'), the Hebrew word for mother.

In Chinese, Amah, or friend, is the equivalent of the English 'Nanny'. Not a wet-nurse or a 'servant' but rather, like a Nanny, a 'friend' who helps raise a child. It is a profession.

During the T'ang dynasty in China, the word "Amah" was used as an informal and poetic title for the Taoist goddess, the Queen Mother of the West.

In modern Mandarin Chinese, "A Ma" is the term for one's maternal grandmother.

References

1. ^ it is used in this way in Yang Erche Namu's memoir Leaving Mother Lake
2. ^ See Ryukyu Island for more information about Okinawa.

See also

• Amah (occupation), a woman who is a domestic servant