nhonha

See also: nhônha

Macanese

Etymology

Uncertain. Possibly from either:

Malay nyonya or directly from below
Hokkien 娘仔 (*niô͘-ngiá, “young lady”) with an older obsolete form of the diminutive suffix^[1]^[2] which historically was a weak form of 囝 (kiáⁿ).
Portuguese dona (“noble lady; proprietress; housekeeper; governess; housewife”) or Portuguese senhora (“lady”)

See also Hokkien 娘娘 (niô͘-niô͘, “lady”), 娘仔 (niô͘-á, “young lady”), 娘惹 (nō͘-niâ / niû-nia / niô͘-nia, “female peranakan”), Spanish doña (“lady”).

Noun

nhonha (plural nhonhonha)

girl; young woman (married or single)
Synonym: amui

Coordinate term: nhum

Nhonha canta. ― A girl sings.

References

^ Van der Loon, Piet (1967) “The Manila Incunabula and Early Hokkien Studies, Part 2”, in Asia Major (New Series)‎^[1], volume 13, page 142
^ Medhurst, Walter Henry (1832) “Yëá 仔”, in A Dictionary of the Hok-këèn Dialect of the Chinese Language, According to the Reading and Colloquial Idioms: Containing About 12,000 Characters, (overall work in Hokkien and English), Macao: The Honorable East India Company's Press by G. J. Steyn and Brother, page 736

[1] Van der Loon, Piet (1967) “The Manila Incunabula and Early Hokkien Studies, Part 2”, in Asia Major (New Series)‎^[1], volume 13, page 142

[2] Medhurst, Walter Henry (1832) “Yëá 仔”, in A Dictionary of the Hok-këèn Dialect of the Chinese Language, According to the Reading and Colloquial Idioms: Containing About 12,000 Characters, (overall work in Hokkien and English), Macao: The Honorable East India Company's Press by G. J. Steyn and Brother, page 736

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