maya

¹ American  

[mah-yah, -yuh] / ˈmɑ yɑ, -yə /

noun

Hinduism.

1. the power, as of a god, to produce illusions.

2. the production of an illusion.

3. (in Vedantic philosophy) the illusion of the reality of sensory experience and of the experienced qualities and attributes of oneself.

4. Also called Mahamaya.  (initial capital letter) a goddess personifying the power that creates phenomena.

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Maya ² American  

[mah-yuh] / ˈmɑ yə /

noun

plural

Mayas,

plural

Maya

1. a member of a major pre-Columbian civilization of the Yucatán Peninsula that reached its peak in the 9th century a.d. and produced magnificent ceremonial cities with pyramids, a sophisticated mathematical and calendar system, hieroglyphic writing, and fine sculpture, painting, and ceramics.

2. a member of a modern Indigenous people of southern Mexico, Guatemala, and parts of Honduras who are the descendants of this ancient civilization.

3. any of the Mayan languages; the historical and modern languages of the Maya.

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adjective

1. Mayan.

Maya ¹ British  

/ ˈmaɪə /

noun

1. Also called: Mayan.  a member of an American Indian people of Yucatan, Belize, and N Guatemala, having an ancient culture once characterized by outstanding achievements in architecture, astronomy, chronology, painting, and pottery

2. the language of this people See also Mayan

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Maya ² British  

/ ˈmɑːjə, ˈmɑːjɑː, ˈmaɪə /

noun

1. the Hindu goddess of illusion, the personification of the idea that the material world is illusory

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maya ³ British  

/ ˈmɑːjə, ˈmaɪə, ˈmɑːjɑː /

noun

1. Hinduism illusion, esp the material world of the senses regarded as illusory

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Other Word Forms

• Mayan adjective
• mayan adjective

Etymology

Origin of maya¹

Borrowed into English from Sanskrit around 1815–25

Origin of Maya²

First recorded in 1810–20; from Spanish, from Yucatec Maya mayab “flat,” a self-designation

Example Sentences

Love Island host Maya Jama and Manchester City player Ruben Dias are said to be devastated after their Cheshire home was burgled on Wednesday evening.

From BBC

Maya says her manager's behaviour often strayed way beyond performance management and into personal attacks.

From BBC

A few months into the job, Maya realised that "every single one of my colleagues would cry almost daily".

From BBC

Maya is not alone - one in three people have left a job because of a toxic workplace or bad manager, research suggests.

From BBC

Likely between age 8 and 15, she was enslaved by an ethnic Maya faction in present-day Tabasco state, though it is unclear if she was kidnapped or sold.

From Los Angeles Times