maya

¹

[ mah-yah, -yuh ]

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

Maya

²

[ mah-yuh ]

noun

, plural Ma·yas, (especially collectively) Ma·ya.

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.

adjective

1. Mayan.

Maya

¹

/ ˈmaɪə /

noun

1. Also calledMayan -ya-yas 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

maya

²

/ ˈmɑːjə; ˈmaɪə; ˈmɑːjɑː /

noun

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

Maya

³

/ ˈmɑːjə; ˈmɑːjɑː; ˈmaɪə /

noun

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

Derived Forms

• ˈmayan, adjective
• ˈMayan, adjective

Other Words From

• mayan adjective

Word History and Origins

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of maya¹

C19: from Sanskrit

Example Sentences

The day we shot that scene, it was her first day on set and Maya Angelou had died that morning.

From The Daily Beast

The ancient Maya believed that the underworld of caves was home to gods that controlled rainfall and harvest bounties.

From The Daily Beast

On death row in Sudan last week, Meriam Ibrahim gave birth to a girl, whom she named Maya.

From The Daily Beast

We have Maya Rudolph, rather than, say, Tina Fey, headlining an attempt to revive the television variety show.

From The Daily Beast

Out of deep injury, Maya Angelou had a way of finding universal hope.

From The Daily Beast

It certainly seems clear that he took the son of Maya, rather than the child of Mary, as his exemplar.

From Project Gutenberg

It reminds us that the followers of Maya's son and Mary's alike lapsed into paganism, and almost by the same stages.

From Project Gutenberg

The Votanic institutions can only be known by the traces they may be supposed to have left in those of the later Maya nations.

From Project Gutenberg

Much of our knowledge respecting the original Maya empire is drawn from the traditions of a rival power.

From Project Gutenberg

There is no reason to suppose it in any way connected with Maya.

From Project Gutenberg