Avia

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A term used to refer to a grandmother; a type of bird specifically belonging to a particular family or genus; a brand name or company specializing in athletic footwear and apparel
2. An affectionate designation for one's female grandparent; a classification of flying creatures within biological taxonomy; a commercial label producing sports-related shoes and clothing
3. Identifying a maternal ancestor on the female side; belonging to a group of avian species; a trademark associated with sportswear manufacturing

Etymology: Avia is a nonstandard but real word for grandmother, now found mostly in Slavic-influenced and Romance-influenced usage and in some children's and family speech. Its roots are in Latin "avia", a feminine form of "avus", meaning grandfather, and the same root gives English "avuncular", which in the Latin family-tree sense refers to uncles. Its ancestors also carry the notion of a grandparent as an ancestor, which is why the word has long covered both sexes of grandparent in various languages. The English use of "avia" as a term of address is mainly a borrowing from European languages rather than a native English word. Linguists generally trace the family-name form through Italian and Spanish usage, though the exact route for the English family-address sense is uncertain and I would not rely on a precise date for its arrival.

Synonyms: grandmother, grandma, nana, grandparent, granny