Meaning
An affectionate term for a girlfriend, a wife, or a woman held in warm regard — literally 'my daughter', but not used to mean an actual child in this romantic or endearing sense. To call a woman 'mi dawta' is to name her with tenderness and closeness, a fond, familiar address between a man and his partner or a term of warm regard for a woman he esteems. It belongs to the affectionate Jamaican vocabulary of endearment, where the word for a beloved partner borrows the language of family, signalling not kinship but deep closeness and care.
Examples
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Mi dawta, yuh look real nice tideh.
My love, you look really nice today.
Used here as an affectionate address to a partner, not a child.
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A weh mi dawta deh? Mi a wait pon har.
Where is my woman? I'm waiting on her.
'A weh...deh' is the locative question with no copula; 'a wait' shows the continuous marker.
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Mi dawta an mi a plan fi married nex year.
My girl and I are planning to get married next year.
'a plan' = continuous; 'fi married' uses 'fi' for 'to'.
Origin
From English 'my daughter'. The word 'dawta' carries a broader affectionate sense in Patois and Rastafari speech, where it is a common respectful term for a woman.
How it’s used
Warm and informal, said mostly by men to a female partner or by anyone to a woman as gentle endearment. In Rastafari usage 'dawta' respectfully denotes any woman. Do not confuse with the literal English 'daughter' — context tells them apart.