An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Amme

by Friedrich Kluge

Amme, feminine, ‘(wet-)nurse, foster-mother,’ from Middle High German amme, feminine, ‘mother, in so far as the child is fed by her; (wet-)nurse,’ Old High German amma, feminine; allied to Old Icelandic amma, ‘grandmother' (Suabian and Bavarian even yet ‘mother’). Probably an instinctive sound, since, undoubtedly independent of the Teutonic group, Romance also and other languages have similar words for Amme; compare Spanish and Portuguese ama.