Amay¹
English: Translation
Mommy; Mom
English: Definition
An affectionate term used by a child or other family member in addressing the mother.
Notes
Part of Speech:
kinship address term
Notes:
A familiar maternal form associated with the solsogtalagin or nursery-language register. Its shortened form May survives chiefly as a respectful title placed before the name of an older female relative.
Keep separate from the homonym amay² ‘early.’
Related Entries:
Ama; Ma; May; Inay; ina’; Apay
Semantic Domains:
Kinship; terms of address; child language
Linguistic History
Its precise historical formation remains uncertain. It forms a synchronic parental pair with /APAY/ ‘Daddy’ and may have developed through nursery-language patterning.