ama

plural amas

1. alternativeAlternative spelling of amah.

   Not only does the baby have a jewel then, or some handsome gift, but his ama (nurse) is remembered with a bright gold doubloon (sixteen dollars).

   1910, Mary F. Roulet, The Spaniard at Home, page 14

   2 more examples

   Again as with Juan, shortly after the religious rite the children would be transferred to the care of wet nurses, or amas, who would take them into their individual homes.

   2007, Ondina E. González, Bianca Premo, Raising an Empire, page 143

   It was rumoured that she had been his ama, the wet nurse who then became part of the family, taking charge so effectively that she ruled the household.

   2013, Maria Aurora Couto, Filomena's Journey

plural amas

1. A traditional Japanese pearl diver, usually female, who mainly dives for seafood, typically without any tool for breathing.

plural amas

1. nauticalThe float on the outrigger of a proa or trimaran.

plural amas

1. countableuncountableAyurvedaA toxic byproduct of improper or incomplete digestion.

plural amas

1. Fabric made from the hair of a camel or goat.

plural amas · alternative amah · alternative ahma · alternative amma

1. PhilippinescolloquialChinese Filipinopaternal grandmother; paternal grandma

   "Perhaps," her grandmother had said. She was nearing death at that point, Mia's ama. Her body was wracked with arthritis, rheumatism, Parkinson's, osteoporosis and more. The maids said she was crazy with pain, and perhaps too far gone to even think properly.

   2012, Andrew Drilon, “Two Women Worth Watching”, in Charles Tan, editor, Lauriat: A Filipino-Chinese Speculative Fiction Anthology, Maple Shade, New Jersey: Lethe Press, Inc., page 8

2. PhilippinescolloquialChinese Filipinoterm of address for one's paternal grandmother

   There would always be some food offerrings there, and every morning, Amma would burn some incense. More elaborate offerings were made on the anniversaries of his birth and death, and the Chinese festivals for the dead such as Qingming in April and the Hungry Ghosts on the seventh lunar month.

   2017, Ari C. Dy, “Introduction”, in Chinese Buddhism in Catholic Philippines: Syncretism as Identity, Anvil Publishing, Inc.

1. alternativeAlternative form of AMA (“against medical advice”).

alternative A.M.A. · alternative A. M. A.

1. USabbreviationinitialismmedicineInitialism of American Medical Association.

   “While there is still time, we urge Florida to reconsider this change to help prevent a rise of infectious disease outbreaks that put health and lives at risk,” said Dr. Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, an AMA trustee.

   2025 September 3, Curt Anderson, “Florida plans to become first state to eliminate all childhood vaccine mandates”, in AP News, archived from the original on 05 Sep 2025

2. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of Alberta Motor Association.
3. AustraliaabbreviationinitialismmedicineInitialism of Australian Medical Association.
4. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of American Motorcyclist Association.

alternative A.M.A. · alternative A. M. A.

1. InternetabbreviationinitialismInitialism of ask me anything: usually attached to the end of a prompt in an “ask me anything” interview session.

plural AMAs · alternative A.M.A. · alternative A. M. A.

1. InternetabbreviationinitialismInitialism of ask me anything.

   While Obama’s AMA ended up being a bit bland, the experiences and knowledge shared by the vacuum repair man made it one of the most popular and memorable AMAs ever hosted.

   2016 October 10, Will Cenci, “Why scientists should learn to love Reddit”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 21 Jul 2017

   1 more example

   We did this after the company abruptly terminated Victoria Taylor, a Reddit employee who worked extensively with us as well as with other moderator teams on facilitating A.M.A.s. […] When the company removed her without warning or providing alternative resources, it effectively hindered every community that hosts the wildly popular A.M.A.s that have made Reddit a part of the mainstream media conversation. […] We received news of Ms. Taylor’s termination in a chaotic way: Someone who was scheduled to conduct an A.M.A. flew to New York to visit the Reddit office and discovered a canceled appointment and no backup support.

   2015 July 8, Brian Lynch, Courtnie Swearingen, “Why We Shut Down Reddit’s ‘Ask Me Anything’ Forum”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 02 Jul 2020

alternative A.M.A. · alternative A. M. A.

1. abbreviationinitialismmedicineInitialism of against medical advice.

1. A language of Papua New Guinea.
2. A Nilo-Saharan language of Sudan.
3. A female given name.