দাই

Bengali

Alternative forms

• ধাই (dhai) — unaspirated variant

Etymology

Due to the lack of aspiration, the word is considered to be a conflation of two related roots:

• from Middle Bengali ধাই (dhai), from Prakrit 𑀥𑀸𑀈 (dhāī), from Sanskrit धात्री (dhātrī), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *dʰaHtriH, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁trih₂ (“wet nurse”).
• from Classical Persian دایه (dāya), from Middle Persian [script needed] (dāyak), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *dʰaHyakas, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁y-o-kos (“nursing (one)”).

Ultimately both are from derivations of Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- (“to suckle, nurse”).

Pronunciation

• (Rarh) IPA^(key): /d̪ai̯/, [ˈd̪ai̯]

• (Dhaka) IPA^(key): /d̪ai̯/, [ˈd̪ai̯]

Noun

দাই • (dai)

1. midwife
2. nurse

Derived terms

• দাইমা (daima, “foster-mother”)