Meaning
Aunt — but also a respectful, affectionate title for any older woman, whether related by blood or not. Children are taught to call the family's friends and the neighbourhood's women 'Auntie' as a mark of respect and warmth, so the word signals community and closeness as much as kinship. It belongs to the whole open, communal Jamaican way with family, in which the district's elders are all 'Auntie' and 'Uncle', and the care and authority of aunthood extends well beyond blood to embrace the older women who help raise and watch over the young.
Examples
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Auntie May always have sweetie fi di pickney dem.
Auntie May always has sweets for the children.
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Say good mawnin to di auntie next door.
Say good morning to the (older) lady next door.
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Mi auntie a mi madda sista.
My aunt is my mother's sister.
Origin
From English 'aunt/auntie', broadened in Jamaican (and wider Caribbean/African) custom into a respectful title for any older woman.
How it’s used
Both literal aunt and a courtesy title for older women. 'Uncle' works the same way for older men.